Amazon.com said Friday that it will acquire Whole Foods Market in a deal valued at $13.7 billion.
Current CEO John Mackey will stay at the grocery store chain and continue to operate it under the Whole Foods brand.
“This partnership presents an opportunity to maximize 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,” Mackey said in a statement.
Whole Foods has been under pressure to sell itself off due to poor performance at the same time as Amazon has worked to expand its online grocery business.
Earlier this week, Amazon announced a new “Amazon Dash Wand” allowing customers who use their online grocery store “Amazon Fresh” to more easily order groceries and other items from the retail giant.
Buying Whole Foods Market instantly expands Amazon Fresh into 431 supermarkets in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.
Amazon has offered $42 per share in the deal. Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFM) was trading at $33.06 ahead of the announcement.
Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) is currently trading at 990.93 after reaching an all-time high of $1011.34 on June 5, 2017.
