Wild Oats news stories on Newser

Court Overturns Whole Foods' '07 Merger

Sam Biddle — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:15:02 CDT

A federal appeals court today overturned a ruling that allowed Whole Foods to buy out rival grocer Wild Oats, the Austin-American Statesman reports. The merger was completed last summer, and Whole Foods has since closed 12 Wild Oats stores, sold off 35 others, and is renovating the rest—making unclear...

Court Stalls Whole Foods Merger

Heather McPherson — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 07:18:43 CDT

A federal court issued a temporary injunction yesterday preventing Whole Foods from buying Wild Oats—at least today. The three-judge panel wants extra time to consider the FTC's argument that combining the nation's two largest organic food retailers would destroy competition. The companies will file additional briefs by tomorrow, and...

Whole Foods May Reap Wild Oats: Judge

Peter Fearon — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 03:19:51 CDT

A federal judge refused to block Whole Foods' $565 million purchase of the company's organic supermarket rival, Wild Oats Markets, despite an effort by the Federal Trade Commission to prevent the merger. The merger could go through next week if there is no appeal, the Wall Street Journal reports.

FTC Spills Trade Secrets

Sam Gale Rosen — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 15:04:14 CDT

While investigating Whole Foods Market's proposed takeover of competitor Wild Oats, the FTC accidentally released dozens of Whole Foods' trade secrets. The commission filed documents electronically without realizing that redacted portions were actually legible, just shaded. Among the secrets: how Whole Foods negotiates with suppliers to drive up prices at...

Whole Foods CEO Sorry for Web Subterfuge

Dustin Lushing — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 06:15:00 CDT

The CEO of Whole Foods apologized yesterday for boosting his company and posting snide comments about a rival supermarket chain in Internet forums and said he "had fun doing it." John Mackey's actions over the last 8 years have already triggered an SEC investigation, and the company's board said yesterday...

SEC Probes Yahoo Posts of Whole Foods CEO

Caroline Zimmerman — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 15:59:03 CDT

John Mackey, the Whole Foods CEO who posted attacks on a competitor in Yahoo financial forums, is under scrutiny by the SEC for his anonymous mischief-making. The federal agency is informally investigating whether the posts violate "fair disclosure" rules. They could be a problem for Mackey if officials find that...

Food Fight: CEO Ripped Rival in Secret Posts

Peter Fearon — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 04:54:55 CDT

The founder of Whole Foods secretly posted messages on a Yahoo stock investors forum—boosting his own company and damning competitor Wild Oats, the Wall Street Journal reports. Now, as CEO John Mackey tries to buy the company he trash-talked, the posts that ran for eight years have come back...

Whole Foods Cannot Sow Wild Oats

Sarah Levy — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 20:30:23 CDT

Even crunchy granola types may be monopolists at heart—at least according to the Federal Trade Commission.The FTC said yesterday it wants to block Whole Foods’ $670 million purchase of Wild Oats Markets, claiming that the sale will result in even higher-than-usual prices at the natural foods stores.