 has announced its intention to buy organic supermarket chain Whole Foods, in deal worth $13.7 billion.){kind=link}
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has announced its intention to buy organic supermarket chain Whole Foods, in deal worth $13.7 billion.
News of the surprise deal broke on Friday afternoon, sending shares in Amazon up nearly 3 percent. Amazon’s offer represents a 27 percent premium to Whole Foods’ closing price on Thursday, and represents the first move in the online giant’s plan to expand into the grocery sector.
“Millions of people love Whole Foods Market because they offer the best natural and organic foods, and they make it fun to eat healthy,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO.
Whole Foods’ John Mackey will remain CEO of the grocery store chain after the deal closes, with Amazon confirming that it intends to run Whole Foods under its current name.
“This partnership presents an opportunity to maximise value for Whole Foods Market’s shareholders, while at the same time extending our mission and bringing the highest quality, experience, convenience and innovation to our customers,” John Mackey said in a statement.
Whole Foods has been under pressure from shareholders to improve its performance of late, despite the surge in popularity for organic foods. The $13.7 billion deal represents the financial power of Amazon, whose market value is greater than that of the 12 largest traditional general retailers combined.
Amazon shares are currently trading up 2.62 percent at 989.91 on the news (1444GMT).