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DALLAS (AP) - Whole Foods Market Inc. said Wednesday it will pay $565 million for Wild Oats Markets Inc., a chain of natural and organic food markets in the United States and Canada. Shares of Wild Oats jumped 17 percent in extended trading after the deal was announced.
Whole Foods executives said they approached Wild Oats because they sensed a "strategic gap" after the smaller company lost its chief executive and chief financial officer.
"I called up their interim CEO," said Whole Foods founder and CEO John Mackey. "I thought, gosh, maybe this would be a good time to approach Wild Oats."
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