Amazon’s Bid to Acquire Whole Foods Gains FTC Approval

Executive Summary

• On June 16, Amazon announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion in cash.
• On Wednesday, the Whole Foods shareholders approved the deal, which was followed later in the day by official approval from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
• The regulator announced it “decided not to pursue this matter further,” discontinuing any further investigation into the deal, and deeming that the merger does not substantially lessen competition in the market.
• The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2017 as originally anticipated.