Wild Oats buyout said bad for prices

Whole Foods Market Inc.’s purchase of Wild Oats Markets Inc. would increase concentration of the country’s natural and organic supermarkets and lead to increased prices, the Federal Trade Commission said.

The FTC had said Tuesday that it planned to block the acquisition of Wild Oats, the second-largest natural-foods grocer after Whole Foods. The agency is concerned that a combined company would control too much of the market for natural and organic foods and harm competition.

“Consumers have benefited directly from the price and quality competition between Whole Foods and Wilds Oats,” the FTC said in a sealed lawsuit, portions of which were released Friday. “If the acquisition occurs, those benefits will be lost.”