Whole Foods may have other bidders

Sale to Amazon isn’t a done deal yet

Amazon may have made an offer to buy Whole Foods Market for $ 13.7 billion, but that doesn’t close the door to other potential suitors — including, perhaps, Walmart.

A JPMorgan report released Thursday raises the possibility that Walmart will make a bid for Whole Foods, raising speculation about other companies that could reel in the one- time darling of the grocery world.

Though the notion of Walmart emerging as a bidder might sound far- fetched, investors aren’t counting out the possibility. Whole Foods shares closed Thursday at $ 43.20, $ 1.20 more than the price of Amazon’s bid Friday for the chain of more than 465 stores, indicating that investors put a premium on the grocery chain above what the online retailing giant was willing to pay.

All this chatter raises questions of what others might want to outbid Amazon.

Kroger. The chain has experience with acquisitions, but it already has a more upscale chain in its portfolio, Harris Teeter. And buying Whole Foods isn’t going to help the beleaguered chain innovate or compete on price.

Small chains. Many regional players are privately- held, including Albertsons, Publix, Hy- Vee and ShopRite, and buying Whole Foods might give them a more national profile.

Wegmans and Trader Joe’s, which also are private, already are overlapping with Whole Foods. But topping Amazon’s bid would be difficult for any of them.

Foreign chains. European heavyweights, such as France’s Carrefour and Britain’s Tesco, might want to buy, rather than build, their way into the U. S. market.

Target. Acquiring Whole Foods might get it back in the good graces of better- heeled customers who recall its “cheap- chic” origins.

Costco.

“The Costco membership model is similar to that of Amazon Prime,” Scott Rothbort, president of LakeView Asset Management and a Seton Hall University finance professor, wrote in a note.