While Whole Foods had been facing public pressure and some bad PR for months, it was pressure from an activist hedge fund, Jana Partners LLC, that seems to have prompted Whole Foods' sale to Amazon.
Now, federal filings show Jana Partners has offloaded its shares for a combined $1.09 billion. The hedge fund is reported to have paid about $794.5 million for its 8 percent stake in the Austin-based organic grocer. That's roughly $300 million in profit in the course of about three months.
Jana started selling off its Whole Foods shares the day after Amazon's planned acquisition of Whole Foods was announced. It offloaded its final, and largest, pile of shares July 18, making $672 million, the ABJ reported.
Meanwhile, the Amazon-Whole Foods deal is still not certain. At least a couple lawmakers and shareholders are demanding more scrutiny of the proposed $13.7B buyout of Whole Foods and how it may impact the market.
For example, shareholder Robert Riegel filed a federal lawsuit because he believes the proposed acquisition undervalues Whole Foods and that the companies didn’t provide shareholders with enough information. While the companies’ boards have approved the deal, it still awaits a vote from shareholders.
Meanwhile, Recode reported that Rep. David Cicilline, D-Rhode Island, sent a letter to fellow political leaders that requests a hearing on Amazon's buyout of Whole Foods and says the deal “raises important questions concerning competition policy, such as how the transaction will affect the future of retail grocery stores, whether platform dominance impedes innovation, and if the antitrust laws are working effectively to ensure economic opportunity, choice, and low prices for American families.”
The news that Amazon would acquire Whole Foods appears to have had a massive impact. After the deal was announced, most major grocery chain stocks plummeted. Meanwhile, Blue Apron, the meal kit delivery company, had a disappointing IPO and has struggled on the public market since. Then, earlier this week, Amazon announced its own meal kits and, in the future, is poised to capitalize on its new Whole Foods brand.
