In what could be the world’s largest case of the munchies, Canadian convenience store operator Couche-Tard is making a bid for its larger rival 7-Eleven.Tokyo-based Seven & i Holdings confirmed Monday that it had received “a confidential, non-binding and preliminary proposal” from Laval, QB based Alimentation Couche-Tard to buy all of its outstanding shares.Dollar terms weren’t disclosed, but it sources said it would be on the order of $35 billion. If it goes ahead, it would be the largest takeover by a foreign firm in Japan’s history.Couche-Tard operates 16,500 outlets in 31 countries including Canada, the US, Mexico and Europe under the Circle K and Wink’s brands. It also owned Mac’s Milk — the infamous ‘Crack Macs’ — which was phased out in favour of Circle K in 2017..By comparison, there are 85,800 7-Eleven outlets and counts 63.6 million visits per day.Seven & i owns not just 7-Eleven, but a number of other businesses including supermarkets, food producers, household goods retailers, financial services companies and has a stake in Tower Records Japan.In the US alone, 7-Eleven controls about 14.5% of the retail convenience store market while Couche-Tara has about 4.6%. The combined entity would control about a fifth of all convenience store sales in North America.However, any future tie-up faces anti-trust concerns on this side of the Pacific in addition to hurdles surrounding foreign takeovers in Japan.In a statement, Seven & i said it has established a special committee to consider the offer.“Consistent with its obligation to act in the best interest of its shareholders and other stakeholders of the company, the special committee intends to 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.”It wouldn’t be the first time the upstart Couche-Tard has made outlandish offers for its larger rivals. In 2021 a $25-billion deal to buy French food giant Carrefour fell through after the French government ruled that it would jeopardize food security.Seven & i shares were up about 25% on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Monday, to ¥2,161 — about $20.12 while Couche-Tard’s were down $1.48 to $82.09 on the TSX.
In what could be the world’s largest case of the munchies, Canadian convenience store operator Couche-Tard is making a bid for its larger rival 7-Eleven.Tokyo-based Seven & i Holdings confirmed Monday that it had received “a confidential, non-binding and preliminary proposal” from Laval, QB based Alimentation Couche-Tard to buy all of its outstanding shares.Dollar terms weren’t disclosed, but it sources said it would be on the order of $35 billion. If it goes ahead, it would be the largest takeover by a foreign firm in Japan’s history.Couche-Tard operates 16,500 outlets in 31 countries including Canada, the US, Mexico and Europe under the Circle K and Wink’s brands. It also owned Mac’s Milk — the infamous ‘Crack Macs’ — which was phased out in favour of Circle K in 2017..By comparison, there are 85,800 7-Eleven outlets and counts 63.6 million visits per day.Seven & i owns not just 7-Eleven, but a number of other businesses including supermarkets, food producers, household goods retailers, financial services companies and has a stake in Tower Records Japan.In the US alone, 7-Eleven controls about 14.5% of the retail convenience store market while Couche-Tara has about 4.6%. The combined entity would control about a fifth of all convenience store sales in North America.However, any future tie-up faces anti-trust concerns on this side of the Pacific in addition to hurdles surrounding foreign takeovers in Japan.In a statement, Seven & i said it has established a special committee to consider the offer.“Consistent with its obligation to act in the best interest of its shareholders and other stakeholders of the company, the special committee intends to 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.”It wouldn’t be the first time the upstart Couche-Tard has made outlandish offers for its larger rivals. In 2021 a $25-billion deal to buy French food giant Carrefour fell through after the French government ruled that it would jeopardize food security.Seven & i shares were up about 25% on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Monday, to ¥2,161 — about $20.12 while Couche-Tard’s were down $1.48 to $82.09 on the TSX.
