Hong Kong – Seven & I Holdings, the Tokyo-based parent company of convenience store giant 7-Eleven, has rejected a multibillion-dollar acquisition bid from Alimentation Couche-Tard, the Canadian operator of Circle K stores. The proposed deal, valued at approximately $38.5 billion, was dismissed by Seven & I, citing concerns over the offer’s valuation and significant regulatory challenges, particularly in the U.S. market.
The offer from Couche-Tard, made at a price of $14.86 per share, aimed to acquire all outstanding stock of Seven & I. Despite this substantial bid, the Japanese conglomerate, which operates more than 83,000 stores globally, maintained that the proposal did not fully capture the intrinsic value of its business. Moreover, the company raised concerns over how such a transaction would navigate the complex regulatory landscape, particularly with regard to U.S. antitrust laws.
In a statement released Friday, Seven & I expressed openness to considering proposals that align with its shareholders’ best interests but reiterated its firm stance against deals that fail to account for the full value of the company or overlook the formidable regulatory hurdles involved. “We will resist any proposal that deprives our shareholders of the company’s intrinsic value or that fails to specifically address very real regulatory concerns,” the statement read.
This rejection follows reports that Seven & I might be willing to entertain a higher bid, as indicated by sources close to the matter. Since news of the initial offer broke last month, Seven & I’s stock has seen a notable rally, pushing its market value to over $38 billion, signaling investor optimism around the possibility of a deal.
If successful, this merger would have marked the largest foreign-led acquisition of a Japanese company in nearly three decades, according to Dealogic, a financial analytics firm. It would also have been the biggest cross-border deal globally in 2023, reshaping the global convenience store market by significantly expanding Couche-Tard’s footprint in both North America and Europe.
However, analysts have cautioned that such a merger would likely face intense scrutiny from regulators, especially given the potential combined entity’s control of nearly one-fifth of the U.S. convenience store market. Seven & I’s acquisition of the Speedway chain in 2021, a $21 billion deal, already established the company as a dominant player in North America, making further consolidation a likely target for U.S. antitrust regulators.
The proposed takeover comes at a time when Japan is reshaping its corporate governance rules to make it more difficult for companies to dismiss unsolicited acquisition offers. This shift is aimed at encouraging foreign investment and making Japan a more competitive and open market for international firms.
Seven & I, which has turned 7-Eleven into a global powerhouse, owes much of its success to Masatoshi Ito, the visionary entrepreneur who built the brand into what it is today. Although 7-Eleven was founded in Dallas, Texas, Ito’s leadership transformed the brand into a staple of everyday life in Japan and beyond. His passing in 2022 marked the end of an era for a brand that has become synonymous with convenience retail across the world.
