Wild Oats Markets

DALLAS -- Three consumer groups are siding with antitrust regulators in opposing Whole Foods Market Inc.'s bid to buy a rival natural and organic food retailer, saying it would lead to higher food prices. The consumer groups said that without a merger, Whole Foods and Wild Oats Markets Inc. would expand and compete more aggressively with each other, providing a benefit to shoppers. The brief was filed in federal District Court in Washington by the Consumer Federation of America, the American Antitrust Institute, and the Organization for Competitive Markets, and made available to...

AUSTIN, Texas - Whole Foods Market Inc. will sell 13 stores to resolve the Federal Trade Commission's challenge of its $565 million purchase of Wild Oats Markets, the company said yesterday. Whole Foods is putting 12 Wild Oats stores and one Whole Foods store up for sale in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Missouri, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah. The Austin, Texas-based company will also sell leases and assets of 19 Wild Oats stores that have closed. In a statement, Whole Foods chief executive John Mackey said the 13 operating stores will do "business as usual.

WASHINGTON -- A federal judge yesterday questioned a central part of Whole Foods Market Inc.'s argument that it should be permitted to buy rival Wild Oats Markets Inc. The Federal Trade Commission has sued to block the $565 million deal, claiming the companies compete in a specific market, natural and organic food, and their combination would hurt service and increase prices. David T. Scheffman, an expert witness, disputed that contention and said the two chains compete with other grocers, such as Safeway Inc. and Trader Joe's.

PORTLAND, Ore. - Natural grocer Whole Foods filed a federal lawsuit yesterday against the Federal Trade Commission, claiming the regulator violated its due process rights in a dispute over its acquisition of rival Wild Oats. Whole Foods Market Inc. bought Wild Oats Markets Inc. of Boulder, Colo., in 2007 for $565 million. But since then, the deal has been embroiled in an antitrust challenge that has Whole Foods' biggest acquisition in legal limbo. The FTC thought the deal could create a natural food monopoly, but federal judges determined the acquisition...

PORTLAND, Ore. - Natural grocer Whole Foods filed a federal lawsuit yesterday against the Federal Trade Commission, claiming the regulator violated its due process rights in a dispute over its acquisition of rival Wild Oats. Whole Foods Market Inc. bought Wild Oats Markets Inc. of Boulder, Colo., in 2007 for $565 million. But since then, the deal has been embroiled in an antitrust challenge that has Whole Foods' biggest acquisition in legal limbo. The FTC thought the deal could create a natural food monopoly, but federal judges determined the acquisition...

DALLAS -- The chief executive of Whole Foods Market Inc. wrote anonymous online attacks against a smaller rival and questioned why anyone would buy its stock, before Whole Foods announced an offer to buy the other company this year. The postings on Internet financial forums, made under the name "rahodeb," said Wild Oats Markets Inc. stock was overpriced. The statements predicted the company would fall into bankruptcy and then be sold after its stock fell below $5 per share.

WASHINGTON -- Regulators filed court documents yesterday outlining concerns that stores in competitive markets would close and consumers would face higher prices if Whole Foods Market Inc.'s $565 million purchase of Wild Oats Markets Inc. is completed. Federal Trade Commission documents revealed that Whole Foods plans to close 30 or more Wild Oats stores, a move that the company believes would nearly double revenue for some Whole Foods stores. The FTC also revealed how Whole Foods negotiates with suppliers to drive up costs for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. ...

AUSTIN, Texas - Whole Foods Market Inc. will sell 13 stores to resolve the Federal Trade Commission's challenge of its $565 million purchase of Wild Oats Markets, the company said yesterday. Whole Foods is putting 12 Wild Oats stores and one Whole Foods store up for sale in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Missouri, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah. The Austin, Texas-based company will also sell leases and assets of 19 Wild Oats stores that have closed. In a statement, Whole Foods chief executive John Mackey said the 13 operating stores will do "business as usual.

WASHINGTON -- Erin O'Neal has two daughters and a fridge stocked with organic cheese, milk, fruits, and vegetables in her Annapolis, Md., home. She is among the increasing number of parents who buy organic to keep kids' diets free of food grown with pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, or genetic engineering. "The pesticide issue just scares me -- it wigs me out to think about the amount of chemicals that might be going into my kid," said O'Neal, 36. Sales of organic baby food have jumped nearly 18 percent since last year -- double the overall growth of organic food sales, according to the...

My brother-in-law Peter lives in Boulder, Colorado. Whenever I use the bathroom in his house, I heave a bucket of used bath water down the toilet to flush it. This provides a welcome opportunity to enhance my deltoids, and it can save approximately 7,300 gallons of fresh water per year. Peter usually bikes, but occasionally he’ll drive his hybrid Honda from where it’s parked next to his xeriscaped yard to the Buddhist meditation classes he teaches downtown. He is, in short, the quintessential Boulderite.

WASHINGTON -- Regulators filed court documents yesterday outlining concerns that stores in competitive markets would close and consumers would face higher prices if Whole Foods Market Inc.'s $565 million purchase of Wild Oats Markets Inc. is completed. Federal Trade Commission documents revealed that Whole Foods plans to close 30 or more Wild Oats stores, a move that the company believes would nearly double revenue for some Whole Foods stores. The FTC also revealed how Whole Foods negotiates with suppliers to drive up costs for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Regulators...

DALLAS -- Three consumer groups are siding with antitrust regulators in opposing Whole Foods Market Inc.'s bid to buy a rival natural and organic food retailer, saying it would lead to higher food prices. The consumer groups said that without a merger, Whole Foods and Wild Oats Markets Inc. would expand and compete more aggressively with each other, providing a benefit to shoppers. The brief was filed in federal District Court in Washington by the Consumer Federation of America, the American Antitrust Institute, and the Organization for Competitive Markets, and...

WASHINGTON -- A federal judge yesterday questioned a central part of Whole Foods Market Inc.'s argument that it should be permitted to buy rival Wild Oats Markets Inc. The Federal Trade Commission has sued to block the $565 million deal, claiming the companies compete in a specific market, natural and organic food, and their combination would hurt service and increase prices. David T. Scheffman, an expert witness, disputed that contention and said the two chains compete with other grocers, such as Safeway Inc. and Trader Joe's.

DALLAS -- The chief executive of Whole Foods Market Inc. wrote anonymous online attacks against a smaller rival and questioned why anyone would buy its stock, before Whole Foods announced an offer to buy the other company this year. The postings on Internet financial forums, made under the name "rahodeb," said Wild Oats Markets Inc. stock was overpriced. The statements predicted the company would fall into bankruptcy and then be sold after its stock fell below $5 per share.