Seven & i in talks with Couche-Tard over store sales for merger deal
The logo of Seven & i Holdings is seen at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, on Dec 6, 2017. (File photo: Reuters/Toru Hanai)
TOKYO: Japan's Seven & i Holdings said on Monday (Mar 10) that talks have begun with Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT) over a store sale plan that would set the stage for ACT's US$47 billion takeover bid.
Last week, the 7-Eleven convenience store operator named Stephen Dacus as its new CEO to lead a recovery and respond to the takeover offer from Couche-Tard.
Seven & i has said United States antitrust law would be a barrier to any deal. The companies are the top two players in the US convenience store market, with about 20,000 locations between them.
In a letter to shareholders on Monday, Seven & i said it proposed that the two companies could map out the viability of a divestiture process and identify potential buyers.
Couche-Tard had said last week that it is engaged in exploratory talks with third parties about a potential sale of US stores, which would help it gain regulatory approval.
It said it had identified a portfolio of US stores and was in talks to "identify possible acquirers".
Couche-Tard "recently agreed" to the proposal to explore the viability of divestitures that would allow for an assessment of the Canadian company's buyout offer, Seven & i said on Monday.
Separately, Seven & i said Joseph Michael DePinto stepped down as a director of the holding company while remaining the chief executive of 7-Eleven.
Top executives from Couche-Tard are due to visit Tokyo this week to speak with the media about their takeover bid.
Artisan Partners, a US-based investor in Seven & i Holdings, said on Sunday it opposed the Japanese retailer's CEO succession plan and urged the company to reconsider Couche-Tard's takeover offer.
