Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI - option chain) shares have moved higher today after privately-held Yucaipa Companies, LLC announced it has acquired a 7 percent stake in WFMI. Yucaipa is also considering other strategic moves, which might go as far as a takeover of the company. Any speculation in WFMI being a buyout target should give this stock a floor, and if you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on WFMI.

WFMI opened this morning at $10.72. So far today the stock has hit a low of $10.27 and a high of $10.89. As of 12:30, WFMI is trading at $10.75, up 74 cents (7.4%). The chart for WFMI looks bearish and S&P gives WFMI its lowest 1 STARS (out of 5) strong sell ranking.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a February bull-put credit spread below the $8 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make an 11.1% return in just six weeks as long as WFMI is above $8 at February expiration. Whole Foods would have to fall by more than 26% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.

WFMI hasn't been below $8 since November and has shown support around $9 recently.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer.

DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in WFMI.

Ronald W. Burkle, the grocery magnate with a net worth estimated at more than $3 billion, has acquired an 8.3% stake in Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) through his Yucaipa American Funds, LLC investment vehicle.

The 13-D contained nothing especially interesting -- just the usual boilerplate: The shares were acquired for investment purposes, but also reserved the right to talk to other investors or management about ways to maximize value. The 13-D added that the shares were acquired because the investors believed they "were undervalued by the market at the time they were acquired."

The Wall Street Journal notes (subscription required) that while the company has seen its performance battered by economic woes, it has a strong balance sheet and competent management. If Borders Group (NYSE: BGP) collapses, Barnes & Noble could be the most direct beneficiary. The deathwatch is one, with shares of Borders trading around 50 cents per pop.

Given the high regard that the company's management is held in, this investment seems unlikely to turn into a true activist situation: So while Burkle's investment is a strong vote of confidence from a highly respected mogul, it's not likely to be much of a catalyst for anything.

The White House can certainly be a ticket to riches. Just look at Al Gore. Since leaving as vice president, he has made a bundle -- having been an early investor in Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and a board member of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL).

And with the release with Bill and Hillary Clinton's tax returns, we are getting more data points.

Interestingly enough, it looks like Bill was a big-time private equity operator. That is, he snagged $15.4 million (since 2003) from Yucaipa Cos. That's certainly a big chunk of Bill's earnings (which amount to about $75 million during this period).

But according to Bloomberg.com, Bill's role may have been more than just an investor. In other words, he may have been an influencer on deal-making.

And why not? Isn't it convenient to have the former U.S. president on your payroll? Absolutely. No doubt, Bill is the ultimate "door opener."

Oh, and I'm sure reporters will try to get some juicy details on some of Yucaipa's deals.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates DealProfiles.com.

Ronald Burkle was recently the subject of a big profile in Forbes.com. The publication does like to write-up billionaires. Besides, Burkle has big-time friends, such as former President Bill Clinton, and he's a big believer in the investment principles of Warren Buffett.

Burkle built his fortune by using leverage buyouts, starting in the grocery sector. One of his most famous plays was for Pathmark Stores (NASDAQ:PTMK).

Now it looks like he wants to start a "corporate governance fund." That's a nice sounding name for a more aggressive approach to investing – that is, taking sizeable positions in a stock and agitating for change (i.e., profits). He says he was inspired by the power he saw Kirk Kerkorian had with GM, despite owning only 10% of the company.

Given Burkle's track record, he should have little trouble finding backers. And there should be no shortage of under-performing companies to target.

Going into 2007, expect this corporate drama to continue.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and operates InvestorOffering.com.