Whole Foods' Wild Oats Acquisition

Whole Foods Market, Inc's. acquisition of Wild Oats Markets, Inc. is all over the news this week. NSFM thought we would give our readers a look at what some national and international publications are writing about the deal and about Whole Foods and Wild Oats.

A Monday, August 20th Associated Press (AP) feature article published in the Washington Post talks about how the folks in Boulder, Colorado, Wild Oats' hometown, are preparing for the Whole Foods' acquisition. Wild Oats has its corporate headquarters in Boulder. However, with the acquisition of Wild Oats it isn't likely Whole Foods will keep a major corporate presence (or headquarters) in that Rocky Mountain region city of 84,000 residents. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp dyn/content/article/2007/08/20/AR2007082000931.html?tid%3Dinformbox&sub=new

The Monday, Aug, 20, 2007 issue of the International Business Times suggests in a story that a positive ruling by the federal court on the Whole Foods Market, Inc. acquisition of Wild Oats Markets, Inc. could have a positive influence on other corporate Acquisitions and mergers either pending Federal Trade Commission review or in the courts. The article sites in particular the XM/Sirius Satellite radio acquisition/merger which the writer says is very similar in structure to the whole Foods/Wild oats deal. The story also discusses other aspects of the Whole Foods aquisition.http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20070820/whole-foods-deals.htm

Just In: A just-released Associated Press story reports that federal Judge Paul L Friedman has earlier today released his reasoning for denying the federal government's request to block the Whole Foods acquisition of Wild Oats. The just-in (Aug. 21, 2007 @ 3:21 PM) Associated Press story by Christopher S. Rugaber is here: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/21/ap4040945.html

The status of the acquisition remains the same. A federal court has currently put a hold on the merger because it says it needs more time to hear testimony from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding the agency's appeal of judge Freidman's initial ruling giving the acquisition a green light.

The Press-Enterprise, a newspaper and online site based in Southern California's Inland Empire region, has an Aug. 18, 2007 story about Whole Foods Market, Inc's plans to build a store in Palm Desert, California, a desert community next door to Palm Springs in Southern California.

Palm Desert is an upscale community as well as a tourist destination. The Palm Springs/Palm Desert area has grown considerably in the last 10 years. It has drawn many new college educated residents, a big plus for Whole Foods when locating a store, and has many high income working and retired residents. The area also draws many upscale tourists during both the winter and summer months. Palm Desert currently has some of the most upscale retail stores in the country, including designer clothing boutiques, expensive jewelery stores, and many other upscale shops. Story: http://www.pe.com/business/local/stories/PE_Biz_D_wholefoods18.3220eac.html

Walter Robb, Co-President of Whole Foods Market, Inc., is a major player in the Wild Oats Markets, Inc. acquisition. The July-August, 2007 issue of Stanford Magazine, a publication for Stanford University alumni, has a profile on Robb, a graduate of Stanford with a BA degree in History. In the piece titled "Green Grocer" Robb talks about his career in the natural foods industry, Whole Foods Markets, and other industry topics on his mind. http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2007/julaug/features/robb.html