The impending Amazon-Whole Foods merger took a step forward Wednesday as the Federal Trade Commission cleared the way for the online retail giant to buy the grocery-store chain.
Bruce Hoffman, acting director of the commission’s Bureau of Competition, said in a statement the merger should proceed, and that competition would not be impeded by the acquisition.
The companies first announced the nearly $14 billion deal in June.
Amazon, based in Seattle, is owned by Jeff Bezos, who also owns the Washington Post. Whole Foods is based in Austin, Texas.
