Business 7-Eleven owner eyes potential record-breaking buyout by Canadian giant

[johnnyG]

A good 7-11 wasn't on my commute at the time, but one thing then that made a difference then was the quality of the sake harami on that kind of onigiri. I forget which chain it was, but a good bit of fish on that made the difference. A few yen extra for having a good chunk of fish included was worth it.

 

[thomas]

It was reported that Ito Junro could not secure financing for the planned buyout, and Itochu had already withdrawn from the negotiations.

According to the statement, Seven & i has learned from Junro Ito, the company's vice president and son of the late founder Masatoshi Ito, as well as the family's asset management company, Ito-Kogyo, that Junro Ito and Ito-Kogyo are unable to secure the financing required to submit a definitive proposal to acquire Seven & i. The announcement comes a day after Nikkei reported that Japanese trading house Itochu would not participate in the proposed buyout. Itochu had been approached by Seven & i's founding family to take part in the buyout but officially announced on Thursday that it was pulling out of discussions. "We have been earnestly considering the request from the founding family for participation as a strategic partner," the trading house said in a statement. However, "we have decided to terminate our consideration of this matter."

Paywall alert:

Seven & i's founding family scraps buyout plan, shares fall by 12%

Japanese retailer weighing 'full range of alternatives,' including Couche-Tard bid

asia.nikkei.com

 

[thomas]

Today, Alimentation Couche-Tard announced that it will withdraw its acquisition proposal for Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. The decision, nearly a year after the initial offer became public, was attributed to what Couche-Tard described as "a lack of meaningful engagement from Seven & i." Seven & i expressed disappointment at the development, although it noted that the outcome was not unexpected. The company stated that Couche-Tard's withdrawal was made unilaterally and criticised it as being based on numerous misrepresentations.

Last year, the Canadian operator of the Circle K convenience store chain had offered to buy Seven & i for $47 billion in what could have been the biggest foreign acquisition of a Japanese company. Nikkei first broke that news on Aug. 19, 2024. On Thursday, the Canadian company revealed it had been offering alternatives to an outright acquisition, including Couche-Tard acquiring 7-Eleven International, the international operations of the Japanese company, in exchange for equity ownership in Couche-Tard. The other idea was Couche-Tard acquiring 100% of Seven & i's business outside of Japan and 40% of the Japan business. [...] Seven & i is scheduled to announce a new growth strategy next month.

Paywall alert:

Canada's Couche-Tard withdraws bid for 7-Eleven parent Seven & i

Circle K operator blames lack of 'constructive engagement' from Japanese group

asia.nikkei.com

 

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

This is an explanation about the convenience store wars. Please watch it with English subtitles.
[Convenience Store Wars] The Historical Background of Seven-Eleven Receiving a Takeover Proposal (Seven & i Holdings)