(RNN) - Amazon announced Friday it is purchasing grocery store chain Whole Foods, in a deal valued at around $13.7 billion.
Amazon,com Inc will pay $42 a share for Whole Foods Market Inc., an 18 percent premium to the closing price Thursday, the Associated Press reported.
The companies said stores would still operate under the Whole Foods brand. For online retailer Amazon, it's another foray into brick-and-mortar stores - it has opened up eight bookstores across the country within the last two years and plans to add at least five more.
The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year.
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