SEC Ends Mackey Investigation

Los Angeles Whole Foods Market said on Friday that Securities and Exchange Commission staffers have concluded a probe into its CEO’s anonymous Web chat-room messages about then-rival Wild Oats Markets and recommended no action be taken, according to a Reuters report.

Whole Foods said in July 2007 it had received an SEC inquiry related to CEO John Mackey's anonymous postings on a Yahoo Inc. chat forum. Mackey for years used an alias when he posted positive comments about Whole Foods and critical comments about rival Wild Oats, which his company later acquired.