TECHNOLOGY / MORE ON TECH : Whole Foods to Form Web Unit

Whole Foods Market Inc. said it is forming an Internet subsidiary and expects to sell shares in the unit as part of a plan to build the premiere Web site for natural products and for nutrition and health-care information. At the same time, the natural foods grocer said it will close its Cevan international unit and Natrix mass-market unit and take a charge in the current quarter of $3.5 million. The WholePeople.com unit plans to debut its Web site early next year and has nonbinding letters of intent from venture capital investors for $35 million. Whole Foods said it will invest $20 million in American WholeHealth Inc., a closely held company that sells so-called integrative medicine, which combines conventional and alternative medicine. Its new unit will have an exclusive e-commerce license to American WholeHealth’s site. Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods shares fell 31 cents to $36.56 before trading on Nasdaq was halted. The announcement was made after the markets closed.