Alimentation Couche-Tard has set its sights on 7-Eleven. The parent company of this convenience store chain confirmed on Monday that it had received a takeover proposal from the Canadian group.
Seven&i Holdings, a Japan-based company, said it “received a confidential, non-binding and preliminary proposal” from Couche-Tard. The buyout proposal is “to acquire all of the outstanding shares of the company,” the statement said.
The Japan-based company has set up a special committee to evaluate the offer, the amount of which has not been made public.
“Neither the board of directors nor the special committee have decided at this stage to accept or reject Alimentation Couche-Tard’s proposal, to enter into discussions with Alimentation Couche-Tard or to pursue another transaction,” it said.
According to the Japanese daily Nikkeiwhich first reported the news, Couche-Tard already approached Seven&i Holdings in 2020, without success.
In 2021, the attempted acquisition of food retail giant Carrefour also failed, following intervention by the French government.
If the offer is accepted this time, it would be the largest acquisition of a Japanese company by a foreign company.
Shortly after the announcement, Seven&i Holdings’ shares jumped 22.71% on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Seven&i Holdings operates nearly 86,000 locations, about a quarter of which are in Japan. Couche-Tard’s network includes nearly 17,000 stores in 31 countries, including the Circle K brand.
At the time of writing, it was not immediately possible to obtain a comment from Alimentation Couche-Tard.