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  • February 2018
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Whole Foods and JANA Partners

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Quinn Pitcher
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:17
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Abstract

In 2017, JANA Partners decided to launch an activist campaign at struggling supermarket chain Whole Foods Market. The company had struggled for the past several years, and JANA thought the presence of new directors could help turn around its operations, while Whole Foods resisted, adding new directors and announcing ambitious new financial targets. Facing continued pressure from JANA despite the new changes, Whole Foods accepted an acquisition offer from Amazon, ending the engagement with JANA.

Keywords

Corporate Governance; Information Technology; Institutional Investing; Investment Activism; United States

Citation

Srinivasan, Suraj, and Quinn Pitcher. "Whole Foods and JANA Partners." Harvard Business School Case 118-076, February 2018.
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About The Author

Suraj Srinivasan

Accounting and Management
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More from the Authors
  • Critical Choices in Designing a Board: An Overview By: Suraj Srinivasan and Lynn S. Paine
  • What Board-level Control Mechanisms Changed in Banks Following the 2008 Financial Crisis? A Descriptive Study By: Shelly Li, Shivram Rajgopal, Suraj Srinivasan and Yu Ting Forester Wong
  • Windsurf and the AI Code Assistant Market By: Suraj Srinivasan, Sudhanshu Nath Mishra and Radhika Kak
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