A judge approved a request for a temporary injunction blocking the proposed sale of Wild Oats Markets Inc. to Whole Foods Market Inc., Associated Press reported. The temporary injunction was granted after lawyers for the government charged that the Whole Foods’ CEO told the board of directors that the acquisition would “eliminate forever” the chances that another national competitor in the natural and organic foods category would emerge, the AP report said. The court documents filed by the Federal Trade Commission also charged that Whole Foods CEO John Mackey said that the acquisition of Wild Oats would “avoid nasty price wars” in several cities, according to the AP report. Associated Press quoted Whole Foods spokeswoman Kate Lowery as saying that the comments were “absolutely out of context.” The FTC has opposed a merger between Whole Foods and Wild Oats charging that it would severely limit competition in the organic and natural foods niche and raise prices for consumers. Whole Foods has countered that many grocers, including mainstream stores, sell organic and natural foods, and the company’s niche represents just a small portion of total grocery sales.
