Whole Foods Market (WFM), the organic superstore operator, has been given permission by the US courts to takeover rival Wild Oats.
The federal appeals court has denied a request by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to block WFM from merging with Wild Oats in a proposed $565m (£276m) deal.
The US ruling rejected the FTC’s argument that the deal would stifle competition and increase the price of organic food.
The US judge ignored e-mails by John Mackey, the founder of WFM, which were posted on an online forum criticising his rival.
WFM, which has 200 stores across the US and one in the UK, wants to acquire Wild Oats, which has 110 US outlets, in order to compete against the large non-organic food retailers.
