Full steam ahead

Don Harris of Wild Oats is speaking tomorrow at the U.S. Apple Association marketing conference on "Retail Perspectives on Organics." Visiting with him briefly at a reception tonight after my presentation of the 2007 Apple Man of the Year award to Jeff Crist of Crist Bros. Orchards, Inc., Walden, N.Y., Harris passed on the news that the U.S. Court of Appeals denied the Federal Trade Commission's request for a stay on the Whole Foods-Wild Oats merger, and that transaction is cleared to go forward.
Of course that leaves much of the Wild Oats team up in the air as to what will happen next. How many will be assigned to Whole Foods Rocky Mountains, how many will go to Austin, how many will be released? Those are all questions that now loom large.

Here is the report from CNN via PR Newswire:

Whole Foods Market, Inc. and Wild Oats Markets, Inc. today have announced they are now legally cleared to proceed with their merger as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has denied the FTC's request for a stay to preclude the closing of the merger pending the FTC's appeal and has dissolved the August 20, 2007 administrative injunction, which had prevented the transaction from going forward while the court considered the FTC's motion.
"We are pleased to have cleared what we expect to be our last legal hurdle," said John Mackey, Chairman, CEO, and co-founder of Whole Foods Market. "We look forward to closing this merger and believe the synergies gained from this combination will create long-term value for our customers, vendors and shareholders as well as exciting opportunities for our new and existing team members."
Whole Foods Market's tender offer to purchase outstanding shares of common stock of Wild Oats expires Monday, August 27, 2007, at 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time.
On February 21, 2007, Whole Foods Market entered into a merger agreement with Wild Oats, pursuant to which Whole Foods Market, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, has commenced a tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding shares of Wild Oats at a purchase price of $18.50 per share in cash. On June 6, 2007, the FTC filed a suit in the federal district court to block the proposed acquisition on antitrust grounds and seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction pending a trial on the merits. Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats consented to a temporary restraining order pending a hearing on the preliminary injunction, which concluded on August 1, 2007. On August 16, 2007, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied the FTC's motion for a preliminary injunction. In order to permit an orderly review by the District Court and the Court of Appeals, Whole Foods and Wild Oats agreed not to consummate the transaction until noon on Monday, August 20, 2007 in order to permit the FTC to have an opportunity to request a stay of the District Court's decision pending appeal. On August 17, 2007, the FTC filed with the District Court a motion for a stay pending appeal, which was denied the same day. The FTC also filed a motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia for a stay pending appeal the District Court's order. On August 20, 2007, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an administrative injunction preventing the transaction from going forward, pending further order of the Court of Appeals, in order to allow the court sufficient opportunity to review the FTC's motion