Seven & I, the parent company of convenience store giant 7-Eleven, confirmed yesterday (19 August) that it has received a preliminary takeover offer from Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT).

According to Reuters, the proposal is to buy the entire company, according to two sources familiar with the matter, and the bid, if successful, would be the largest-ever buyout of a Japanese firm from an overseas company.

In a statement, Seven & I said: “The board of directors of the company [Seven & I] has formed a special committee of the board of directors, comprised solely of independent outside directors, led by Stephen Hayes Dacus, as chairperson of the board of directors, to review the proposal...the special committee intends to conduct a prompt, careful and comprehensive review of the proposal, the company’s [Seven & I's] stand-alone plans and other alternatives for enhancing corporate value, after which a response will be made to ACT.”

While the outcome of the bid is unknown, news of it sent shares of Seven & I surging by around 23% in Tokyo, valuing the company at around JPY 5.6 trillion (approx. $37.92 billion). 7-Eleven is said to be the ‘world’s largest’ convenience store chain with approximately 83,485 locations in 17 countries.

ACT, which operates Circle-K convenience stores, is valued at around $58 billion and operates over 16,700 convenience stores in 29 countries and territories.

Seven & I's statement concluded: “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”.

Top image: ©7-Eleven

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