Wild Oats Sells $48 Million in Stock, Jumpstarts StoreGrowth

Wild Oats Sells $48 Million in Stock, Jumpstarts StoreGrowth

BOULDER, Colo.--On Sept. 3, Wild Oats Markets Inc. (NASDAQ:OATS)completed the sale of 4.5 million shares of common stock at $11.50 each, givingthe company a profit of $48.3 million. The offering was conducted by J.P. MorganSecurities Inc.

Wild Oats plans to use a portion of the proceeds to aggressively pursue newstore development. The plan calls for opening 13 additional stores in 2003, 20in 2004 and 25 in 2005. In addition, the company plans to remodel its existingstores and develop information systems and infrastructure that will reduce costsand improve operating margins.

"We are excited about our future growth plans and look forward tofinalizing leases quickly on a number of strong new store sites we haveidentified," said Perry Odak, chief executive officer of Wild Oats.

Investment analyst Greg Badishkanian of New York-based Salomon Smith Barneyreported that Wild Oats will benefit from this action by alleviating investorconcern regarding the company's liquidity and ability to grow its store base.However, the company still needs to prove its mettle now that it has cash inhand. "We also continue to believe Wild Oats' refinancing and equity dealwill only be $.04 per dilutive share, not $.07 as speculated," Badishkaniansaid.