WASHINGTON — Retailer-owned private-label cooperative Topco Associates, based in Skokie, Ill., is seeking to buy the Wild Oats brand name and other intellectual property from Whole Foods, according to a filing with the Federal Trade Commission here. The filing also lists Fullerton, Calif.-based food-product supplier Luberski Inc. as a potential buyer for the Wild Oats brand.
Whole Foods Market, Austin, Texas, was ordered to sell the Wild Oats brand along with 32 stores after an FTC antitrust battle in the wake of its 2007 merger with Wild Oats Markets. Agreements have been reached for the sale of three of those locations — in Kansas City, Mo.; Portland, Maine; and Boulder, Colo.
Terms of the sale of the Wild Oats brand — which includes its extensive private label — were not disclosed in the FTC filing, which seeks public comment on the proposed divestitures during the next 30 days.
Topco is also listed as the proposed buyer for Alfalfa’s Markets’ intellectual property. Boulder-based Alfalfa’s had previously been acquired by Wild Oats.
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