7-Eleven owner’s shares plunge as family buyout fails
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Alimentation Couche-Tard, the owner of the Circle-K chain of convenience stores, is keeping up its pursuit of Seven & i but has yet to gain access to the Japanese company’s finances.
PHOTO: AFP
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TOKYO – Seven & i Holdings’ shares plunged after a proposed nine trillion yen (S$80.7 billion) management buyout led by the convenience store chain’s founding family collapsed.
The stock closed down 11 per cent on Feb 27, the largest fall on an intraday basis on record, slicing the 7-Eleven owner’s market value to around US$33 billion (S$44.3 billion).
The buyout group, which included the founding Ito family and trading house Itochu, has been unable to secure the financing required to submit a definitive proposal to acquire Seven & i, the retailer said in a statement on Feb 27. Itochu shares gained as much as 6.8 per cent.
The buyout plan led by the Ito family and Itochu was initially put together in November 2024 to fend off a takeover offer by Alimentation Couche-Tard, which has proposed to acquire the Japanese retailer at a valuation closer to US$47 billion.
If the buyout plan falls over, Seven & i chief executive Ryuichi Isaka may have little choice but to enter negotiations with Couche-Tard.
Couche-Tard, the owner of the Circle-K chain of convenience stores, is keeping up its pursuit of Seven & i but has yet to gain access to the Japanese company’s finances, months after proposing a takeover, Bloomberg News reported on Feb 27, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
In its statement on Feb 27, Seven & i said it “remains committed to exploring all opportunities to unlock value for shareholders” and continues to assess Couche-Tard’s proposal.
It is engaging constructively with the Canadian company to determine if an actionable proposal can be achieved that addresses the serious US antitrust challenges any transaction would face.
Couche-Tard signalled its interest more than six months ago,
But the two sides have yet to sign a non-disclosure agreement that would give the Canadian company access to detailed financial information that its board believes is necessary to make a formal binding offer, a common step in such negotiations.
BLOOMBERG
