Amazon 13.7 billion deal to Whole Foods approved

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E-commerce giant Amazon' s proposed 13.7-billion-US dollars purchase of Whole Foods Market has won the approval from the US Federal Trade Commission and shareholders on Wednesday.

On June 16, Amazon announced the decision to take over the organic supermarket chain which marks the online retailer's biggest-ever deal this year.

A woman looks at her phone at a Whole Foods Market in Washington, DC, June 16, 2017. /AFP Photo

The US Federal Trade Commission said in a statement that Amazon's acquisition won't harm the industry competition. Two companies expect to close the deal before the end of this year.

The buyout came together against a backdrop of concerns that technology companies such as Alphabet, Google, Facebook and Amazon are becoming too dominant.

Norm Armstrong, an antitrust lawyer at King & Spalding LLP in Washington said the reason why FTC approved the deal was that Amazon and Whole Foods are not close competitors and shoppers will have multiple other choices to buy groceries.

Inside scenery of Whole Foods Market in US. /Reuters Photo

Initially an online bookstore in 1994, Amazon has now grown to become the biggest global e-commerce retailer. It is expanding services into the US grocery market with its vast express delivery network.

John Mackey, Whole Foods co-founder and CEO, said in June that "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, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Whole Foods Market, speaks at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, US, May 2, 2016. /Reuters Photo

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods was founded in 1978 as the first registered organic supermarket in the US and now has more than 460 stores with about 87,000 employees in the United States, Canada and Britain.