Whole Foods Market announced last week that it will sell a 17 percent stake in the company to the private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners for $425 million.

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Whole Foods Market is the world’s leading natural and organic foods supermarket and America’s first national certified grocer. Leonard Green & Partners is a private investment firm established in 1989 which manages about $9 billion in capital.

Like many other businesses, Whole Foods has suffered the brunt of the economic crisis as consumer spending has gone down. It has been forced to restructure in multiple ways including cutting back on its expansion plans. John Mackey, chairman, chief executive and co-founder of Whole Foods Market said in a statement that the company viewed Leonard Green’s investment “as a strong vote of confidence in our business model and our long-term growth prospects, despite the current economic environment.”

Read here for the complete press release: Whole Foods Market Announces $425 Million Equity Investment by Leonard Green & Partners, L.P.