Talks between the companies are in an early stage.

August 19, 2024

Seven & i Holdings, the Japanese company that operates 7-Eleven, confirmed in a statement today that it received an acquisition proposal from Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT). According to a report from Reuters, the offer valued Seven & i Holdings at around 5.6 trillion yen ($38 billion).

In its statement, Seven & i Holdings said that it has formed a special committee of the board of directors, comprised solely of independent outside directors, which will “conduct a prompt, careful and comprehensive review of the proposal, the company's stand-alone plans and other alternatives for enhancing corporate value, after which a response will be made to ACT.”

Neither the board of directors nor the special committee has made any determination at this time to either accept or reject the proposal from ACT, to enter into discussions with ACT or to pursue any alternative transaction.

If the bid goes through, it would be the biggest foreign takeover of a Japanese company on record, CNN reported.

Alimentation Couche-Tard did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters outside of usual working hours. The talks are "at a very early stage," said one of the sources.

“The deal, if agreed, would follow Couche-Tard's $3.3 billion purchase of some of TotalEnergies' European petrol stations last year and a $20 billion bid for Europe's largest food retailer Carrefour, which was rejected in 2021 by the French government on food security concerns,” Reuters reported.

ACT has also announced it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire GetGo Café +Markets from supermarket retailer Giant Eagle, Inc. Read more about this acquisition in tomorrow’s Daily.