revised
takeover offer from Canadian rival Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT) after rejecting an initial bid worth around US$40 billion.
7-Eleven is the world’s biggest convenience store chain and has more than 85,000 outlets worldwide, around a quarter of those in Japan.
Seven & i Holdings did not give a figure for the revised offer from ACT but Bloomberg News and other media outlets reported that it totalled around seven trillion yen (US$47 billion).
The takeover, if realised, would be the biggest foreign buyout of a Japanese firm. As requested by ACT, the company has maintained, and intends to continue to maintain, the confidentiality of its current discussions with ACT,
Seven & i, Japan’s biggest retailer said in a statement.
Seven & i said it will announce its quarterly earnings tomorrow, with the CEO scheduled to address the media.
The group’s shares closed up 4.7% today, having surged nearly 12% in the morning following reports that ACT — which owns Circle K — had hiked its offer by almost 20%.
The reports said the new offer was sent to Seven & i on Sept 19 but said no substantive negotiations had taken place since then.
Seven & i rejected ACT’s first offer last month, saying the US$40-billion proposal grossly
undervalued its business and could face regulatory hurdles.
7-Eleven began in the US but the franchise has been wholly owned by Seven & i since 2005.
The stores are a beloved institution in Japan, selling everything from concert tickets to pet food and fresh rice balls.
Meanwhile, Couche-Tard runs nearly 17,000 convenience store outlets worldwide.
By purchasing 7-Eleven, it is seeking to become truly global
, said Kai Li, a professor and Canada research chair in corporate governance at UBC Sauder School of Business.Couche-Tard has done well with Circle K acquisitions, expanding its footprint in the US,
she told AFP.But such a purchase might raise antitrust concerns given that the combined entity would have ‘more market power’ and could drive smaller operators out of business,
Li said.
Japan’s TV Tokyo reported that Seven & i is even considering changing its name to demonstrate in name and substance that the company will focus on its mainstay convenience business
Recent media reports have also said the company wants to strengthen its hand by selling off other assets such as its banking unit.
-FreeMalaysiaToday