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Whole Foods Is Buying Wild Oats
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS (AP) -- Whole Foods Market Inc. said Wednesday it will pay $565 million for Wild Oats Markets Inc., a chain of natural and organic food markets in the United States and Canada.
Whole Foods said it would pay $18.50 in cash per share for Wild Oats and assume the rival's debt, reported to be $106 million as of Sept. 30.
Austin-based Whole Foods said it would borrow to finance the deal.
Wild Oats has annual sales of about $1.2 billion and operates 110 stores in 24 states and British Columbia, Canada.
