Amazon has announced that it will complete its $13.7 billion takeover of Whole Foods Market (WFM) on Monday 28 August.

The acquisition has been given the go-ahead by both Whole Foods shareholders and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) – the US consumer watchdog.

The two companies have expressed the intention of making WFM’s high-end, organic food affordable for everyone, so have committed to lowering prices as of Monday on a selection of grocery staples across stores.

As part of the deal, Amazon and WFM technology teams will also begin to integrate Amazon Prime into the WFM point of sale systems, which will see Prime members receiving special savings and in-store benefits.

Jeff Wilke, CEO of Amazon Worldwide Consumer, said: “To get started, we’re going to lower prices beginning Monday on a selection of best-selling grocery staples, including Whole Trade organic bananas, responsibly-farmed salmon, organic large brown eggs, animal-welfare-rated 85 per cent lean ground beef, and more. And this is just the beginning – we will make Amazon Prime the customer rewards programmed at Whole Foods Market and continuously lower prices as we invent together.”

John Mackey, Whole Foods Market co-founder and CEO, added: “It’s been our mission for 39 years at Whole Foods Market to bring the highest quality food to our customers. By working together with Amazon and integrating in several key areas, we can lower prices and double down on that mission and reach more people with Whole Foods Market’s high quality, natural and organic food. As part of our commitment to quality, we’ll continue to expand our efforts to support and promote local products and suppliers.”

In a statement regarding the deal, the FTC also commented: “Based on our investigation, we have decided not to pursue this matter further. Of course, the FTC always has the ability to investigate anti-competitive conduct should such action be warranted.”

Share Story: