Ownership profile
Who owns Whole Foods Market?
Whole Foods Market is a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc. (a publicly traded corporation on NASDAQ), which acquired it in an all-cash deal for approximately $13.7 billion that closed on August 28, 2017; there is no private equity involvement.
Ownership profile
Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market, Inc.
Evidence (7)
Amazon purchased all outstanding shares in a cash transaction that closed on August 28, 2017, and delisted Whole Foods from NASDAQ after 25 years of public trading.
https://www.companieshistory.com/who-owns-whole-foods/Whole Foods Market, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc.; Amazon acquired it on August 28, 2017 for approximately $13.7 billion in cash, delisting it from NASDAQ.
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000865436/000114420417045024/v474012_ex99-1.htmOn June 16, 2017, Amazon and Whole Foods Market announced a definitive merger agreement under which Amazon would acquire Whole Foods Market for $42 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $13.7 billion, including net debt.
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000865436/000117184317004337/exh_991.htmThe FTC gave clearance to Amazon's $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods Market, with the deal formally closing on August 28, 2017.
https://www.supermarketnews.com/grocery-operations/amazon-whole-foods-market-deal-set-to-close-aug-28Whole Foods does not report separate financials as a private Amazon subsidiary; annual sales reached $22.4 billion as of early 2026 per Amazon's public disclosures.
https://www.companieshistory.com/who-owns-whole-foods/Whole Foods Market's ownership status is listed as 'Acquired/Merged (Operating Subsidiary)' with parent company Amazon.com; financing status is 'Formerly VC-backed'.
https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/10925-02Whole Foods Market is owned by Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN); the financials of Whole Foods consolidate into Amazon's public filings.
https://www.exchangeright.com/tenant-profiles/whole-foods-market/What's uncertain
- No private equity involvement was found at any point in Whole Foods Market's recent history; the 'none' PE determination is made with high confidence based on multiple corroborating sources.
- PitchBook notes Whole Foods was 'formerly VC-backed' prior to its IPO in 1992, but there is no evidence of PE buyout ownership at any time in its history.
- Whole Foods Market no longer files independent SEC reports as a public company; all financial disclosures are consolidated under Amazon.com, Inc. (EDGAR CIK 1018724).
- The SEC filings retrieved (SC 13G forms) are pre-acquisition shareholder filings from 2005 and 2012, reflecting the period when Whole Foods was publicly traded — not current ownership structure.