7-Eleven owner rejects $38bn buyout offer
The Japanese owner of the convenience store chain 7-Eleven has turned down a $38 billion (£29.2 billion) acquisition bid from Canadian rival Circle K.
In a letter to Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT), Seven & I Holdings criticized the Canadian company’s offer as “grossly” undervaluing the business and highlighted significant regulatory risks.
Despite the rejection, Seven & I Holdings expressed a willingness to negotiate and consider a more attractive proposal.
ACT has yet to respond to a BBC News inquiry.
Seven & I’s letter, referring to a special committee formed to evaluate the offer, stated: “The Special Committee believes that your proposal is opportunistically timed and significantly undervalues our independent trajectory and the additional actionable opportunities we see to unlock shareholder value.”
The offer from ACT comes during a period of notable weakness in the Japanese yen against the US dollar, which makes Seven & I more accessible to foreign buyers.
“Your proposal does not adequately acknowledge the multiple and significant challenges such a transaction would face from US competition law enforcement agencies,” Seven & I’s letter added.
7-Eleven is the world’s biggest convenience store chain, with 85,000 outlets across 20 countries and territories.
ACT’s footprint in the US and Canada would more than double to more than 20,000 sites were a deal to go ahead.
