Whole Foods Market to Challenge FTC's Opposition to Wild Oats Merger
June 05 2007 - 2:23PM
PR Newswire (US)
AUSTIN, Texas, June 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Whole Foods Market,
Inc. (NASDAQ:WFMI) announced, in connection with its tender offer
for all of the outstanding shares of Wild Oats Markets, Inc.
(NASDAQ:OATS), that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has advised
Whole Foods Market that it will file a complaint in the U.S.
District Court for the District of Columbia seeking to block the
proposed acquisition. The FTC also has advised Whole Foods Market
that it will ask the Court to enter a temporary restraining order
that would prohibit the Company from completing its acquisition of
the shares of Wild Oats until the Court has resolved the FTC's
request for a preliminary injunction. John Mackey, Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer of Whole Foods Market, stated, "We are very
disappointed by this decision and we intend to vigorously challenge
the FTC in court. The FTC has failed to recognize the robust
competition in the supermarket industry, which has grown more
intense as competitors increase their offerings of natural, organic
and fresh products, renovate their stores and open stores with new
banners and formats resembling Whole Foods Market. Evidently the
FTC does not appreciate the many benefits for consumers of the
proposed merger, including our plan to invest capital in and
improve many of the stores currently owned by Wild Oats." The FTC's
challenge to the proposed merger is based on its contention that
the relevant antitrust product market is limited to natural and
organic food stores and excludes other supermarkets. The Company
believes that the FTC's position is without basis and contrary to
its position in past merger reviews, where its definition of
supermarkets has included conventional supermarkets as well as
Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats. About the Transaction: On
February 21, 2007, the Company entered into a merger agreement with
Wild Oats Markets, Inc., pursuant to which we, through our
subsidiary, have commenced a tender offer to purchase all the
outstanding shares of Wild Oats at a purchase price of $18.50 per
share in cash. Based on the FTC's attempt to block the acquisition
and the Company's intent to challenge the FTC, the Company
anticipates announcing the extension of the expiration date for the
tender offer to purchase outstanding shares of Wild Oats Markets,
Inc. in the near future; currently that expiration date is 5:00
p.m., New York City time, on Wednesday June 20, 2007. About Whole
Foods Market: Founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods
Market(R) is a Fortune 500 company and one of the leading retailers
of natural and organic foods. The Company had sales of $5.6 billion
in fiscal year 2006 and currently has 195 stores in the United
States, Canada and the United Kingdom. About Wild Oats: Wild Oats
Markets, Inc. is a nationwide chain of natural and organic foods
markets in the U.S. and Canada. With more than $1.2 billion in
annual sales, the Company currently operates 110 natural food
stores in 24 states and British Columbia, Canada. The Company's
markets include: Wild Oats Marketplace, Henry's Farmers Market, Sun
Harvest and Capers Community Markets. For more information, please
visit the Company's website at http://www.wildoats.com/. The
following constitutes a "Safe Harbor" statement under the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for the historical
information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press
release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and
uncertainties, which could cause our actual results to differ
materially from those described in the forward looking statements.
These risks include but are not limited to general business
conditions, the timely development and opening of new stores, the
impact of competition, and other risks detailed from time to time
in the Company's SEC reports, including the reports on Form 10-K
for the fiscal year ended September 24, 2006. Whole Foods Market
undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements.
Securities Law Disclosure: The description contained herein is
neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell
shares of Wild Oats Markets, Inc. Whole Foods Market, Inc. and WFMI
Merger Co. have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a
tender offer statement on Schedule TO and certain amendments
thereto, and have mailed an offer to purchase, forms of letter of
transmittal and related documents to Wild Oats' stockholders. Wild
Oats has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and has
mailed to Wild Oats' stockholders, a solicitation/recommendation
statement on Schedule 14D-9 with respect to the tender offer. These
documents contain important information about the tender offer,
including the terms of the tender offer, and stockholders of Wild
Oats are urged to read them carefully. Stockholders of Wild Oats
may obtain a free copy of these documents and other documents filed
by Wild Oats or Whole Foods Market with the Securities and Exchange
Commission at the website maintained by the Securities and Exchange
Commission at http://www.sec.gov/ or by contacting the information
agent for the tender offer, Georgeson Inc., at (212) 440-9800 or
(866) 313-2357 (toll free), or the dealer manager for the tender
offer, RBC Capital Markets Corporation, at (415) 633-8668 or (800)
777-9315 x8668 (toll free). Contact: Ashley Hawkins, 512.542.0381
Kate Lowery, DATASOURCE: Whole Foods Market, Inc. CONTACT: Ashley
Hawkins, +1-512-542-0381, or Kate Lowery, , both of Whole Foods
Market, Inc. Web site: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/
http://www.wildoats.com/
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