23 June, 2017
The deal is estimated to be worth almost $13.7 billion, at $42 per share.
Amazon is paying $42 per share for Whole Foods, which is a 27 percent premium from Thursday's night close.
A crowded local grocery market became more interesting - and probably more competitive - as online retail powerhouse Amazon announced Friday that it will buy organic foods specialist Whole Foods, which now has stores in Washington Twp., Mason and Cincinnati.
Mackey will remain CEO after the merger and Whole Foods will continue to operate under its own name.
Well, not anymore. In one fell swoop, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has charged into the supermarket business with the US$13.7 billion (S$19 billion) acquisition of Whole Foods last Friday.
"We want to assure you that Amazon shares Whole Foods Market's deep commitment to quality and customer service".
"I think that this takes all of the pressure off Whole Foods and gives Whole Foods the opportunity to revitalise that business and, of course, it stems the criticism from all of these activist investors", said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail in NY.
Now that Amazon is in the brick-and-mortar business selling books and groceries, who knows where it will set its sights next? (NASDAQ:AMZN) "a launching pad not just for food but possibly drugs as well where customers aren't willing to wait even a day".
It also is expected to hasten existing efforts by grocers to make shopping more smartphone-ready, sell more private label and specialty foods and overcome the hurdles of home-delivery of groceries. "We are seeing very early signs here across AMZN Bookstores and the Amazon Go store in Seattle", Anmuth wrote in a note obtained by CNBC.
Courtney Hiddeman and her family live right down the street from the Whole Foods "world headquarters" on Bowie Street in Austin.
These online retailers are taking on a number of major firms dominating the supermarket scene for so long, including Walmart supercenters, Safeway, and Publix.
The grocery industry hasn't been immune - old-line supermarket chain A&P went bankrupt in 2015.
The merger of Whole Foods and Amazon is expected to close later in 2017 after gaining approval from USA regulators and Whole Foods' stockholders.
Whole Foods, often derided as "Whole Paycheck" for its high prices, could see its reputation change if Amazon, a master at undercutting its brick-and-mortar rivals, passes any savings from automation to customers.
New competition from Amazon will "exert margin pressure on everybody else and force everybody to be innovative and consolidate", Agnese said.
WalMart bought Jet, an ecommerce site trying to compete with Amazon, for $3.3 billion in 2016. Over the past few years, #Grocery Retailers have fought against online entrants into the market, and with this most recent purchase, the fight has only grown. He says having this powerful partner will put Whole Foods far ahead of its competitors.
June 16 A decision by Goldman Sachs Group Inc a year ago to move an investment banking veteran to Seattle, as well as Evercore Partners Inc's hiring of a top banker defending companies against activist investors, has paid off handsomely.
