The Federal Trade Commission cleared Amazon to officially take over Whole Foods. Politico’s Morning Agriculture Report says Amazon will spend $13.7 billion to acquire the Austin, Texas-based high-end food grocery store chain. The FTC wrapped up its investigation and found no anticompetitive effects sufficient to block the deal. Acting competition bureau chief Bruce Hoffman says, “Based on our investigation, we’ve decided not to pursue this matter further. Of course, the FTC always has the ability to investigate anticompetitive conduct should it become necessary.” Whole Foods shareholders approved the deal on Wednesday. Politico says there’s been a lot of unhappiness regarding the deal and what it means for consumers, retailers, and even the so-called food movement. However, these two companies together only comprise about two percent of the overall food market. In comparison, Walmart has over 14 percent and Costco sells way more organic food than Whole Foods does. While speculation remains over what Amazon intends to do with the deal, nothing has been confirmed as of yet.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.