Seven & i Mulls Takeover Bid from Canada’s Couche-Tard

Seven & i Holdings, the Japanese operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores, has received a takeover offer from Canadian convenience store giant Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT). Following the announcement, shares of Seven & i surged by 22.7%, resulting in a market valuation of approximately 5.6 trillion yen ($38.5 billion). The potential acquisition, if completed, would be the largest foreign-led buyout of a Japanese company.

Seven & i has established a special committee composed of independent outside directors to evaluate the offer. This committee will assess the valuation and other aspects of the proposal before making a recommendation. The company, which operates 85,000 stores in 20 countries, is in the process of expanding to 100,000 locations by 2030. The specifics of the offer, including the acquisition method and size, have not been disclosed.