NEW YORK, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Amazon announced Friday that it will acquire Whole Foods Market, a grocery store chain, for 42 U.S. dollars per share, in an all-cash deal valued approximately at 13.7 billion U.S. dollars.
Following the announcement, shares of Whole Foods spiked over 27 percent, while shares of the e-commerce giant rallied 3 percent. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2017.
"This partnership presents an opportunity to maximize value for Whole Foods Market's shareholders, while at the same time extending our mission and bringing the highest quality, experience, convenience and innovation to our customers," John Mackey, Whole Foods Market co-founder and CEO, said in a statement.
Mackey will remain as CEO of the grocery store chain after the deal closes, and the store's headquarters will stay in Austin, Texas.
"Whole Foods Market has been satisfying, delighting and nourishing customers for nearly four decades - they're doing an amazing job and we want that to continue," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO.
Whole Foods Market is a leading natural and organic foods grocer, but has been widely known for high prices and under pressure from fierce competitions.
Meanwhile, Amazon has been pushing to expand its grocery business, seeing the deal as an emerging opportunity.
However, many large grocery chains took a big hit on the news of this deal. Discount retailers Target and Wal-Mart fell 8.06 percent and 5.13 percent, respectively.
In early Friday, Kroger sank 11.48 percent, while Costco dropped 5.64 percent.
