Amazon to Acquire Whole Foods Market

16/06/2017

Amazon to Acquire Whole Foods Market

Whole Foods Market ranked #28 and Amazon ranked #2 on Fortune's 2017 list of World's Most Admired Companies

SEATTLE & AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun. 16, 2017-- Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFM) today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Amazon will acquire Whole Foods Market for $42 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $13.7 billion, including Whole Foods Market's net debt.

Millions of people love Whole Foods Market because they offer the best natural and organic foods, and they make it fun to eat healthy, said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO. Whole Foods Market has been satisfying, delighting and nourishing customers for nearly four decades - they're doing an amazing job and we want that to continue.

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, said John Mackey, Whole Foods Market co-founder and CEO.

Whole Foods Market will continue to operate stores under the Whole Foods Market brand and source from trusted vendors and partners around the world. John Mackey will remain as CEO of Whole Foods Market and Whole Foods Market's headquarters will stay in Austin, Texas.

Completion of the transaction is subject to approval by Whole Foods Markets shareholders, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The parties expect to close the transaction during the second half of 2017.

About Amazon

Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.

About Whole Foods Market

Founded in 1978 in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market is the leading natural and organic foods supermarket, the first national Certified Organic grocer, and uniquely positioned as America's Healthiest Grocery Store . In fiscal year 2016, the Company had sales of approximately $16 billion and has more than 460 stores in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Whole Foods Market employs approximately 87,000 team members and has been ranked for 20 consecutive years as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America by Fortune magazine. For more information, please visit www.WholeFoodsMarket.com or @WholeFoods on Twitter.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Amazon Forward-Looking Statements

Amazon's statements related to the proposed merger with Whole Foods Market contain forward-looking statements, including statements regarding expected benefits of the merger, the timing of the transaction, and financing of the transaction. Actual results could differ materially from those projected or forecast in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include the following: Whole Foods Market shareholders may not approve the transaction; the conditions to the completion of the transaction may not be satisfied, or the regulatory approvals required for the transaction may not be obtained on the terms expected, on the anticipated schedule, or at all; long-term financing may not be available on favorable terms, or at all; closing of the transaction may not occur or may be delayed, either as a result of litigation related to the transaction or otherwise; the parties may be unable to achieve the anticipated benefits of the transaction; revenues following the transaction may be lower than expected; operating costs, customer loss, and business disruption (including, without limitation, difficulties in maintaining relationships with employees, customers, and suppliers) may be greater than expected; the Company may assume unexpected risks and liabilities; completing the merger may distract the Company's management from other important matters; and the other factors discussed in Risk Factors in Amazon's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 and in Amazon's other filings with the SEC, which are available at http://www.sec.gov. Amazon assumes no obligation to update the information in the communication, except as otherwise required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements that speak only as of the date hereof.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Whole Foods Market Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this communication constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are often identified by words such as anticipate, believe, intend, estimate, expect, see, continue, could, can, may, will, likely, depend, should, would, plan, predict, target, and similar expressions, and may include references to assumptions and relate to Whole Foods Market's future prospects, developments and business strategies. Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this communication are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that may cause Whole Foods Market's actual results to be materially different from such forward-looking statements and could materially adversely affect its business, financial condition, operating results and cash flows. These risks and uncertainties include the o

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