Shares in Whole Foods Market Inc (NASDAQ:WFM) were a shade lower in pre-market trading but made up ground later after Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) ruled out a counter-bid.
News agency Reuters reported that the supermarket giant is not intending to bid for Whole Foods, the organic foods retailer that has agreed to a buy-out from online retail behemoth Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN).
Other reports suggest that Whole Foods has not received any interest from potential rival bidders sniffing around.
Shares in Walmart are up 1.08% at mid-session to $75.65, while Amazon (NASDQ:AMZN) shares lost 0.61% to $997.65.
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Amazon has won the support of the Whole Foods board with its US$13.7bn bid.
Whole Foods had been under pressure from hedge fund Jana Partners to make changes to its board, and the organic supermarket accepted an offer from online retail bully Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN).
Worth US$42 a share, the Amazon offer was made at a 27% premium to last Thursday’s closing price of Whole Foods’ stock.
But there were calls last week that Amazon should pay more.
“Whole Foods shareholders will only receive $42.00 per Whole Foods share owned. The consideration is significantly lower than at least one analyst’s estimated value of $47.00 per share,” noted The Briscoe Law Firm, as it called for disgruntled shareholders to contact the firm to see whether Amazon could be compelled to pay more.
Share prices of most food retailers took a battering on the news of Amazon’s audacious move last week.
Having access to Amazon’s infrastructure and buying power is sure to boost the margins of Whole Foods, enabling it, perhaps, to cut prices.