The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) will be acquiring Vitacost.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITC), Fox Business Network’s Adam Shapiro said in a recent report.
According to the report, The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR), which is America’s largest supermarket company, is making a move to fortify its online retailing side with the purchase of Vitacost.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITC). The online company sells vitamins and other health-maintenance-related products.
Shapiro explained:
“Kroger is buying online retailer Vitacost.com for about $280 million or $8 per share in cash. Kroger says Vitacost sells 45,000 products including vitamins, herbs and supplements to about 2.3 million active customers. The company says it will use Vitacost to enter new markets and new distribution channels along with its Harris Teeter online order and pickup service. Kroger says the deal is expected to close during the third quarter.
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the deal for Vitacost.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITC) is relatively small for The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) since it has $100 billion in annual sales.
Watch the full report below.
The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) investors includes David Harding’s Winton Capital Management which reported, by the end of March, a stake that’s comprised of about 2.36 million shares. Another investor is Cliff Asness’ Aqr Capital Management which reported about 1.08 million shares in the company during the same period.
Vitacost.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITC) shareholders includes John H Lewis’ John H Lewis Osmium Partners which had, by the end of the first quarter of this year, about 2.76 million shares in the online health products retailer. Another shareholder is Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates which had about 2.43 million shares in the company also in the same period.
Disclosure: None
