Earlier today, Amazon.com Inc.(NASDAQ:AMZN) announced that it will be acquiring Whole Foods Market Inc.(NASDAQ:NASDAQ:WFM) for $42 per share in an all-cash transaction. The deal is for $13.7 billion, including Whole Foods' debt. Will this acquisition by tech giant Amazon.com cause other giant companies to start buying other leading grocery stores and supermarkets?
A couple of other companies that could be in the running to buy a grocery/supermarket chain are Wal-Mart Stores Inc.(NYSE:WMT) and Costco Wholesale Corp.(NASDAQ:COST). Both of these companies are already in the grocery business and do not want to lose market share to Amazon.com. Who really knows how Amazon.com will try to monetize the acquisition of Whole Foods Market down the road. If Amazon does for groceries what it has done to retailers this could really impact Wal-Mart Stores Inc.(NYSE:WMT) and Costco Wholesale Corp.(NASDAQ:COST). So it should be safe to say that these other retail giants could be shopping for a grocery/supermarket chain in the near term future.
Here is a list of publicly traded companies that could be takeover candidates down the road. They are Sprouts Farmers Market Inc (NASDAQ:SFM), Safeway Inc (NYSE:SWY), Natural Grocers by Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc (NYSE:NGVC), and Kroger Co(NYSE:NYSE:KR). The charts of these stocks should be watched closely for clues that these they could be acquired.
