Alimentation Couche-Tard is not considering a hostile takeover bid for Japan’s Seven & i, Nikkei has reported.
In an interview with Japanese media on Thursday, Couche-Tard’s chairman and co-founder Alain Bouchard said a hostile bid “was not among factors being considered,” indicating the company’s intention to secure an amicable acquisition deal, Nikkei reported.
Takeover Bid
Couche-Tard – which competes with Seven & i in the North American petrol station market – in August made an initial bid to take over the Japanese retail giant.
It later raised its offer to $47 billion, in what would be the largest-ever foreign takeover of a Japanese company.
Seven & i – which operates more than 80,000 7-Eleven convenience stores around the world – is caught in a three-way tug-of-war between Couche-Tard, Seven & i’s founding family – which is proposing a management buyout – and company management who have said their growth plan can enhance value.
Asked whether Couche-Tard could raise its bidding price, CEO Alex Miller – who also attended the interview – said, “The current proposed price is attractive for all stakeholders.”
The two companies have large shares in the US convenience store market so a merger would likely face regulatory scrutiny and divestiture of stores in some regions to satisfy anti-monopoly rules.
In a Yomiuri newspaper report of the joint interview, Bouchard said his company had extended takeover proposals to Seven & i three times in all – in 2005, 2020 and 2024.
He said it would take six months to deal with regulatory authorities after an acquisition and Couche-Tard had a plan on how to do so, Yomiuri reported.
Seven & i’s shares slid 1% in early Tokyo trading on Friday compared to a 0.8% advance in the benchmark Nikkei gauge.
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