Jana Partners (Trades, Portfolio) reported on Feb. 17 selling its entire position in Whole Foods, according to a filing released Thursday.
Jana Partners (Trades, Portfolio) reported owning 26,074,830 shares of Whole Foods, representing an 8.3% stake, from February to April for a total purchase price of $794.5 million. It unwound the stake over the past month for an average aggregate price of $1.21 billion, granting Jana a roughly $326.5 million reported profit on its quick activist investment.
Jana made its final and biggest sale -- 16.15 million shares – at its lowest sell price of $41.66 as Whole Foods’ price started to slide after Jana helped seal its acquisition by Amazon (AMZN, Financial). Jana, an event-driven value firm founded by Barry Rosenstein, looks for companies selling cheap that have a catalyst for growth, often taking activist positions to spur change.
Rosenstein’s pressure to unite Whole Foods (WFM, Financial) with the retail behemoth pushed its shares up more than 29% in one day when it announced the deal on June 16. Amazon said it would purchase the natural grocery chain for $42 per share or $13.7 billion in cash.
“This partnership presents an opportunity to maximize value for Whole Foods Market’s shareholders, while at the same time extending our mission and bringing the highest quality, experience, convenience and innovation to our customers,” John Mackey, Whole Foods Market co-founder and CEO, said in a statement.
Whole Foods shares remained roughly a third of a percent under the bid price at close Thursday as the deal awaits shareholder and regulatory approval.
See Jana Partners (Trades, Portfolio)’ portfolio here.
