Whole Foods, FTC battle continues

WASHINGTON The Federal Trade Commission announced Thursday that it has issued another complaint against Whole Foods Market for its planned acquisition of Wild Oats Markets. In the complaint, the FTC asserts that a merger between the companies would “violate federal antitrust laws by eliminating the substantial competition between these two uniquely close competitors in the operation of premium natural and organic supermarkets nationwide.” In addition, the FTC said that the merger could lead to hire prices and poorer quality and services.

On June 6, the FTC filed a similar complain against Whole Foods in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. On June 7, a hearing was scheduled for July 31 to determine whether or not to approve FTC’s proposal to block the merger. Until then, Whole Foods and Wild Oats have agreed to a temporary restraining order preventing them from going forward with the transaction.