Amazon revealed it was entering the grocery market in a big way today, with news that it plans to acquire Whole Foods Market for a whopping $13.7 billion.
But where does the deal sit on the grand scheme of Amazon acquisitions?
Well, the Whole Foods deal will represent Amazon’s biggest acquisition by quite some margin — more than ten times, as it happens. Here we take a quick peek at Amazon’s five biggest acquisitions of all time.
1. Whole Foods Market (2017): $13.7 billion
Amazon has made no secret of its desire to infiltrate the lucrative grocery market, having debuted its AmazonFresh grocery delivery service way back in 2007. Having expanded the initiative across the U.S., the company recently launched AmazonFresh Pickup, which is essentially a drive-through grocery store for picking up your orders.
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That Amazon was willing to pay nearly $14 billion for Whole Foods shows that Amazon knows that to compete effectively in the grocery market, it needs a local, prominent, on-the-ground presence — which is what it will have when this deal closes later in 2017.
2. Zappos (2009): $1.2 billion
Amazon’s previous biggest deal was online shoe retailer Zappos, which cost Amazon $1.2 billion in 2009, though the deal was originally valued at $807 million — the increase was due to a rise in Amazon shares between the deal being announced and it closing.
3. Twitch (2014): $970 million
Originally, Google was thought to be in the lead to buy game livestreaming company Twitch in 2014, but Amazon blindsided everyone by snapping up the company in a $970 million all-cash deal. This was Amazon’s second biggest acquisition of all time until today.
4. Kiva Systems (2012): $775 million
Amazon relies on its warehousing logistics technology, with automation playing a major part in the company’s ability to streamline operations. And this is why Amazon snapped up Kiva Systems for $775 million in 2012.
Amazon had been using Kiva Systems’ robotics and automation smarts in its fulfillment centers for years, so the acquisition really just confirmed how crucial its technology was to making Amazon tick.
5. Souq (2017): $650 million
Earlier this year, Amazon confirmed it had finalized a deal to buy Souq, which is basically the Middle East’s biggest ecommerce site — the “Amazon of the Middle East,” if you will. An official price was never announced for the deal, with anything from $580 million to $750 million touted; however, $650 million seems to be the generally accepted value of the acquisition.
