Billionaire investor Ron Burkle has purchased a 7 per cent share in US-based natural and organic retail group Whole Foods Market, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.
Mr Burkle, who purchased the shares through his Yucaipa investment firm, bought the shares because he considered them to be 'undervalued', while seeing 'substantial opportunities for the company to improve operations and its pricing image while maintaining its high-quality product offering'.
The regulatory filing showed that Mr Burkle and his funds had invested around US$99m on the Whole Foods stake, with shares in the company jumping 23 per cent following coverage of the deal.
In November, the group reported a drop in earnings per share during the fourth quarter of the year to 1 per cent, or US$1.5m.
The results marked a considerable year-on-year fall from the sameperiod of 2007, when net earnings stood at US$33.9m and US$0.24 pershare.
