After interviewing four of them, Whole Foods said it would consider two, on the condition
that Jana back down from its public aggression, Mr. Mackey said.
So over the last two years, as Whole Foods’ stock price sunk
and activist investors called for changes, Mr. Mackey took the challenges to his company personally.
On Friday, Whole Foods announced it would sell itself to Amazon, a transaction — code-named “Project Tree” by bankers —
that stands to reshape the entire grocery industry, swaths of e-commerce and possibly the retail landscape at large.
In an effort to broker peace with Jana, Whole Foods said it was willing to consider some of the candidates that Jana put forward for the board.
But the deep pockets of Mr. Bezos offer Whole Foods a way to escape the harsh glare of public
investors who demanded cost cuts, shake-ups in management and on the board and more.
Amazon — the leading force in e-commerce — was among the companies that had initial discussions with the Whole Foods board.
