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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tejek who wrote (433279)	11/5/2008 8:17:13 PM
From: bentway	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1575489

Private Equity Firm Buys 17% of Whole Foods By REUTERS LOS ANGELES — The private equity firm Green Equity Investors V has bought 17 percent of the grocery chain, Whole Foods Market, for $425 million, sending shares up nearly 22 percent. Whole Foods — a former Wall Street darling, which thrived before the economic crisis by selling organic, natural and gourmet food at premium prices — has been hit as consumers trade down to lower-priced stores. The company, based in Austin, Tex., posted fourth-quarter net income of $1.5 million, or a penny a diluted share Wednesday, including 12 cents in total charges related to idle Wild Oats properties; a tax charge; asset impairments and 13 lease terminations of Whole Foods stores in development. Analysts, on average, were looking for adjusted earnings of 13 cent a share. It reported net income of $33.9 million, or 24 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter ended Sept. 30. Whole Foods bought rival Wild Oats Markets for $565 million last year and the chain had already cut expansion plans and halted its dividend this year. Sales, including those from divested stores, rose to $1.79 billion from $1.74 billion, but gross profit also declined. Sales at stores open at least a year rose 0.4 percent. The company’s shares rose to $12.54 in extended trading from their $10.31 close on Nasdaq. One year ago, the shares were trading at $51.06. Green Equity Investors V is an affiliate of Leonard Green Partners. Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company