Amazon Opens Wallet, Buys Zappos†

Wall Street Journal, July 23, 2009 — Amazon.com Inc., making the biggest acquisition in its 14-year history, said it would buy rival online footwear retailer Zappos.com Inc. for about $847 million in cash and stock.

The Seattle e-commerce giant’s purchase reflects its most serious effort to tap into Internet sales of apparel, the largest online-shopping category and one in which Amazon has had limited success in the past.