The biggest financial winner in the Wild Oats deal is not an executive. It's financier Ronald Burkle, who stands to make a $40.4 million profit on a $54 million investment.

Billionaire Burkle has made his money in the markets - grocery markets, that is. He's a former bag boy who ultimately bought and sold stakes in the supermarket chains Fred Meyer, Jurgensen's and Ralphs.

Burkle began buying Wild Oats stock in early 2005, when it was in the $6 range. Over 18 months, he kept buying as the stock climbed above $16.

He ultimately paid $54 million for 5.1 million shares, or 17.3 percent of the company. At $18.50 apiece, they're now worth $94.4 million - a profit of $40.4 million.

Wild Oats' sale to Whole Foods won't include many multimillion-dollar executive payouts.

The Boulder grocer never has been a heavy user of stock options. Plus, turnover means few top executives have been with the company long enough to accumulate lots of stock.

Interim CEO Gregory Mays, who stepped in from a board seat last year, owns 59,035 shares worth $1.1 million. He got half of those as restricted shares the day after the Whole Foods deal was announced as an inducement to stay.

Wild Oats executives with employment contracts stand to get a severance package of two times their salary and bonus, plus 401(k) and insurance benefits.

Former CEO Perry Odak had roughly 670,000 shares of stock when he left the company in the fall of 2006. At the buyout price, he'll gross more than $12 million - if he still owns them.

But those shares are a reminder, in another way, of the missed riches in Wild Oats stock.

When Odak signed his employment contract in 2001, he bought 1,332,649 Wild Oats shares - 5 percent of the company - at $6.97 apiece. He made a small cash payment and took out a $9.27 million loan from the company, with interest accruing at 5.5 percent a year.

The whole amount was to be forgiven. All Odak had to do was drive the stock to $30 a share for 120 consecutive trading days. But it also would be forgiven if he sold the company for just $20 a share.

Wild Oats never hit those heights, and Wednesday's sale wouldn't have been rich enough to meet Odak's goal. In February 2006, Odak made good on the loan by turning over 678,530 of his shares worth $12.1 million.