UNITED STATES-FIRE SALE OF FOOD MARKETS.
Whole Foods Market Inc. on Friday said it will sell 13 stores and 19 shuttered locations as part of a settlement resolving the U.S. government’s antitrust challenge to its August 2007 acquisition of rival grocer Wild Oats Markets Inc.
Twelve of the operating stores to be sold are Wild Oats sites and one is a Whole Foods location; they will remain open through the marketing process, Whole Foods said in a news release. The 13 sites had combined sales of about $31 million, or 1.3 percent of total company sales, in the first quarter of fiscal 2009.
The 19 non-operating sites for sale are former Wild Oats stores. Whole Foods said it will also divest Wild Oats trademarks and other intellectual property.
The Federal Trade Commission is expected to issue a final ruling on the divestiture plan following a 30-day public comment period ending April 6, Whole Foods said.
Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods said it expects to record a non-cash charge to earnings of up to $19 million for the potential sale of the 13 operating stores after the FTC’s final ruling.
The 13 operating stores for sale are located in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Missouri, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon and Utah.
The 19 non-operating Wild Oats stores to be sold are in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon and Utah.