Amazon to buy Whole Foods in $13.7bn deal

Amazon, the e-commerce heavyweight, unveiled plans on Friday to buy the up-market grocer Whole Foods in a $13.7bn deal.

Amazon said it will pay $42 a share for Texas-based Whole Foods in an all-cash deal that includes the group’s debt.

The pact significantly ramps-up Amazon’s bid to disrupt the US grocery industry, an area where the company has been slowly building a greater presence in over the past few years. Groceries differ from Amazon’s core e-commerce business since it is more logistically complicated.

“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,” said John Mackey, Whole Foods co-founder and chief executive.

Whole Foods closed at $33.06 on Thursday. Shares were halted in pre-market trading.

Kroger, another large US supermarket that was seen as a potential suitor for Whole Foods, experienced an 11.9 per cent sell-off on Friday, on the heels of a sharp decline on Thursday after disclosing a profit warning. Sprouts Farmers Market, a Whole Foods competitor, tumbled 9.6 per cent in early trading.

FT