Credit: Photo by John Anderson

Whole Foods Markets Inc. is getting bigger – and it’s not from stuffing down their oh-so-calorific Boston cream parfaits.

The Austin-based natural and organic food behemoth is shelling out $565 million to buy rivals Wild Oats Markets Inc. (see the .pdf of the press release here). The buy massively expands its national footprint, adding Wild Oats’ 110 stores in 24 states and British Columbia (including two Sun Harvest stores in Austin) to Whole Foods’ 193 stores across the US, Canada, and the UK. The purchase also gives them Wild Oats’ Amazon.com store and its own-brand range of dried and preserved foods.

However, they’ll also be taking on Wild Oats’ $106 million debt, just as Whole Foods’ own profits have dropped around 3% over the last year.

This article appears in February 16 • 2007.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.