Speculation on possible Whole Foods Market buyers has ranged from private equity to Kroger to Albertson’s to Amazon in early May.
Ashley Nickle, staff writer for The Packer, talked to a handful of retail analysts this week who said organic-focused Whole Foods may be attractive to a broad range of buyers, but a purchase will have to clear a number of hurdles.
Buyout fever heated up in early April when investment firm Jana Partners and others purchased an 8.8% stake in the company.
Jana and five individual investors with varying degrees of retail experience bought about 28 million shares for about $720 million, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Those investing along with Jana:
- Glenn Murphy, former CEO of Gap;
- Diane Dietz, former executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Safeway;
- Thomas Dickson, former CEO of Harris Teeter Supermarkets;
- Meredith Adler, former Barclays analyst and consultant in the food and retail sectors; and
- Mark Bittman, a food writer and Columbia University faculty member focusing on food policy.
Not surprisingly, neither Whole Foods nor any rumored buyers would comment on the rumors.