Seven & I to ask Couche-Tard to reconsider offer, source says
Japanese retail giant has not rejected the offer but will tell Alimentation Couche-Tard the bid price is ‘inadequate’, confirms source
05 September 2024 - 15:14
byRocky Swift and Ritsuko Shimizu
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Seven & I’s logo is seen at a 7-Eleven convenience store in Tokyo, Japan on August 19 2024. File Picture: REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Tokyo — Japanese retail giant Seven & I will inform Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard that its takeover bid price is “inadequate”, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
Seven & I would ask Couche-Tard to reconsider its takeover bid, also referring to competition law concerns mainly in the US, though the company did not reject the offer and would continue to talk with the suitor, the source said.
The company’s board would send a letter to Couche-Tard as early as Friday, according to the Nikkei business daily, which reported the news first.
News of Couche-Tard’s approach for the global operator of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, which would be the largest foreign takeover of a Japanese company, pushed Seven & I shares up almost 23% on August 19.
A Seven & I spokesperson declined to comment, saying the company would not comment on market rumours.
Seven & I, with a market valuation of about ¥5.6-trillion ($39bn), previously said it formed a special committee to review the proposal, whose value or terms had not been disclosed.
Couche-Tard, which operates Circle-K convenience stores, is valued at about $52bn.
While Seven & I is much larger than Couche-Tard in terms of sales, stores and employees, its shares have underperformed for years, drawing complaints from investors including ValueAct Capital about the company’s management and asset structure.
US fund Artisan Partners, which holds about 0.85% of Seven & I’s outstanding shares, said last week that Couche-Tard could enhance the Japanese company’s corporate value and called on its management to respond to the offer by September 19.
The bid for Seven & I is the latest example of the growing interest in Japanese companies by Western investors, who have been drawn by the country’s push for better governance and a slide in the yen.
Foreign acquisitions of Japanese companies doubled to about ¥902.2bn ($6.2bn) in the first half of the year compared with the same period in 2023, according to LSEG data.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Seven & I to ask Couche-Tard to reconsider offer, source says
Japanese retail giant has not rejected the offer but will tell Alimentation Couche-Tard the bid price is ‘inadequate’, confirms source
Tokyo — Japanese retail giant Seven & I will inform Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard that its takeover bid price is “inadequate”, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
Seven & I would ask Couche-Tard to reconsider its takeover bid, also referring to competition law concerns mainly in the US, though the company did not reject the offer and would continue to talk with the suitor, the source said.
The company’s board would send a letter to Couche-Tard as early as Friday, according to the Nikkei business daily, which reported the news first.
News of Couche-Tard’s approach for the global operator of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, which would be the largest foreign takeover of a Japanese company, pushed Seven & I shares up almost 23% on August 19.
A Seven & I spokesperson declined to comment, saying the company would not comment on market rumours.
Seven & I, with a market valuation of about ¥5.6-trillion ($39bn), previously said it formed a special committee to review the proposal, whose value or terms had not been disclosed.
Couche-Tard, which operates Circle-K convenience stores, is valued at about $52bn.
While Seven & I is much larger than Couche-Tard in terms of sales, stores and employees, its shares have underperformed for years, drawing complaints from investors including ValueAct Capital about the company’s management and asset structure.
US fund Artisan Partners, which holds about 0.85% of Seven & I’s outstanding shares, said last week that Couche-Tard could enhance the Japanese company’s corporate value and called on its management to respond to the offer by September 19.
The bid for Seven & I is the latest example of the growing interest in Japanese companies by Western investors, who have been drawn by the country’s push for better governance and a slide in the yen.
Foreign acquisitions of Japanese companies doubled to about ¥902.2bn ($6.2bn) in the first half of the year compared with the same period in 2023, according to LSEG data.
Reuters
Japanese companies back in favour as M&A targets
Couche-Tard makes preliminary bid for Seven & I
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