Amazon.com Inc said on Friday it would buy U.S. organic supermarket chain Whole Foods Market Inc for US$13.7 billion, including debt, marking the internet retailer's largest deal and biggest foray into the brick-and-mortar retail sector. Amazon agreed to pay $42 per share for the Austin, Texas-based grocer in an all-cash transaction, a 27 percent premium over Thursday's closing stock price. WHOLE FOODS WAS UNDER PRESSURE

The deal unfolded after Jeff Bezos, Amazon's chief executive officer, approached Whole Foods CEO John Mackey about a month ago and received an eager response from Mackey, two people familiar with the matter said. The deal, expected to close in the second half of this year, gives Amazon -- which has been experimenting with various store concepts to establish itself as a food purveyor -- an instant expanse of 460 high-end stores across the U.S., in Canada and in the U.K.
Amazon agrees to buy Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion. The takeover deal is expected to be completed in the second half of the year.