Seven & i Holdings, the parent company of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, announced on Monday that it has received a buyout offer from its Canada-based rival, Alimentation Couche-Tard.
The Tokyo-based retailer confirmed in an Aug. 19 statement that Couche-Tard had made a “confidential, non-binding. and preliminary” proposal to acquire all of the company’s “outstanding shares.”
Seven & i stated that it has formed a special committee of independent outside directors to conduct a “prompt, careful, and comprehensive review” of the proposal.
The financial terms of the proposal have not been disclosed.
Seven & i said that no decision has been made by either the committee or board of directors about the proposal, including whether to enter into discussions with Couche-Tard or pursue any alternative transaction.
Couche-Tard, which operates Circle-K convenience stores, also confirmed Monday that it submitted a “friendly” and “non-binding” proposal to the Japanese retailer.
The Canadian convenience store operator said that it aims to achieve a “mutually agreeable transaction” that could benefit the customers, employees, franchisees, and shareholders of both companies.
“There can be no certainty at this stage that any agreement or transaction will be reached,” Couche-Tard said in a press release. The company did not disclose the value of its offer.
Shares of Seven & i surged nearly 23 percent on Monday after the news broke. The Japanese retailer has around 85,800 stores worldwide, including 7-Eleven shops, according to its website.
Under pressure from activist investors, Seven & i has been selling off underperforming retail assets and doubling down on its global convenience store business centered around its flagship 7-Eleven brand.
Since last year, the company has announced the closure of dozens of Ito-Yokado supermarkets, exited its apparel business, and completed the sale of its Sogo & Seibu department store unit.
A Couche-Tard store in Ontario, Canada. The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes
Couche-Tard, on the other hand, has more than 16,700 stores and petrol stations across 31 countries and territories, according to its website.
If the company’s buyout offer for Seven & i goes through, it would be the largest buyout of a Japanese firm by an overseas company, LSEG data show, beating the $18 billion deal in 2018 for Toshiba’s memory chip business by a consortium led by private equity firm Bain.
Couche-Tard is also acquiring GetGo Café +Markets from supermarket retailer Giant Eagle, with whom it has reached a definitive agreement. GetGo has around 270 convenience retail and fueling locations across Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Aldgra Fredly
Author
Aldgra Fredly is a freelance writer covering U.S. and Asia Pacific news for The Epoch Times.
