Amazon.com Inc. will acquire Whole
Foods Market Inc. for $13.7 Billion, a bombshell of a deal that catapults the
e-commerce giant into the supermarket business with hundreds of store across
the US.
Amazon agreed to pay $42 a share in
cash for the organic-food chain, including debt, a roughly 27% premium to the
stock price at Thursday’s close. The deal sends a shockwave across both
the online and brick-and-mortar industries, uniting two brands that weren’t
seen as obvious partners. For Amazon, the deal is more about getting a
distribution network for groceries. It has spent years trying to break
into delivering groceries, but hasn’t been as successful as in other categories.
The transaction also may help
Amazon sideline Instacart Inc., a startup that has delivered grocery orders
from Whole Foods stores in more than 20 states and Washington, D.C. Amazon’s
biggest acquisition announced to date came in 2014, when it agreed to buy
video-game service Twitch Interactive Inc. for $970 million in cash.
Millions of people love Whole Foods
Market because they offer the best natural and organic foods, and they make it
fun to eat healthy. The takeover is slated to be completed in the second
half of the year, with Whole Foods’ headquarters remaining in Austin, Texas.
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