7-Eleven owner rejects Couche-Tard’s takeover offer

The Japanese owner of 7-Eleven has rejected a takeover offer from Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.

Seven & i Holdings Co. Ltd. said the proposal by the Canadian convenience store operator “grossly undervalues” the company.

In a letter to Couche-Tard, Seven & i called its offer of US$14.86 per share in cash “opportunistically timed” and said the proposal was not in the best interest of its shareholders and other stakeholders.

“We are open to engaging in sincere discussions should you put forth a proposal that fully recognizes our stand-alone intrinsic value and addresses our concerns regarding certainty of closing in the current regulatory environment,” wrote Stephen Dacus, chair of the special committee formed to review the offer.

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“However, we do not believe, for several critical reasons, that the proposal you have put forward provides a basis for us to engage in substantive discussions regarding a potential transaction.”

The Japanese company said the Couche-Tard bid did not adequately acknowledge the multiple and significant challenges such a transaction would face from U.S. competition regulators.

In addition to global convenience store chain 7-Eleven, Seven & i owns supermarkets, food producers, household goods retailers and financial services companies.

On Thursday, before Seven & i published its rejection, Couche-Tard said it was confident in its ability to finance and complete the proposed deal.

Analysts have cast doubt on whether the two companies can reach a deal because they believe satisfying Japanese regulators will be onerous and could force Couche-Tard to let go of some of its assets.

Couche-Tard has operations across 31 countries and more than 16,800 stores. If it manages to wrangle Seven & i, that deal would add 85,800 stores to its empire.