Whole Foods extends tender offer for Wild Oats to June 20 due to extended waiting period

By Lisa Kerner

Charlotte, N.C., May 22 - Whole Foods Market, Inc. extended its $18.50-per-share tender offer for Wild Oats Markets, Inc. to 5 p.m. ET on June 20 from May 22 as the result of a second request from the Federal Trade Commission and subsequent extension of the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period.

A total of 20,956,505 shares of Wild Oats common stock, or about 70.1% of the shares outstanding, were tendered and not withdrawn as of the close of business on May 21, a company news release stated. The tender offer began on Feb. 27 and was slated to end on March 27.

On Feb. 21, Whole Foods agreed to acquire Wild Oats in a transaction valued at about $565 million. Whole Foods expects to fund the deal using $700 million in new senior term loan facilities and plans to expand its existing long-term senior revolving credit facility to $250 million.

Whole Foods Market is an Austin, Texas-based natural and organic foods retailer.

Wild Oats Markets is a chain of natural and organic food markets based in Boulder, Colo.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.