Seven & i Holdings Ltd announced that its convenience store brand 7-Eleven is planning to explore potential store sell-offs with Canadian firm Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT).
This decision follows a series of measures introduced by Seven & i just days ago to counter a takeover bid from ACT, while also addressing antitrust concerns ahead of a possible merger.
“Joint outreach by financial advisors to ACT and 7&i to potential buyers has begun,” the parent firm said in a statement.
The company, which has fully owned 7-Eleven, the world’s largest convenience store brand, since 2005, is now taking steps to determine if a deal could be structured in a way that satisfies regulators.
ACT has agreed to work with Seven & i to outline a divestiture plan, which includes defining the operational, management, and financial aspects of the stores that could be sold, as well as identifying potential buyers.
“This would provide some insight into the prospects of success along terms that had a reasonable likelihood of satisfying US antitrust regulators,” the company added.
Seven & i believes these discussions will help determine whether a “credible and actionable remedy and divestiture package can be achieved that would allow a realistic assessment of ACT’s proposal.”
Earlier, the company had announced a major share buyback and plans to list its US unit on the stock market, another development in an ongoing procedure that began last year when it rejected ACT’s initial $40 billion buyout offer.
Seven & i dismissed the bid in September, arguing that it undervalued the business majorly and would likely face regulatory obstacles. If the deal were to go ahead, it would mark the biggest-ever foreign takeover of a Japanese firm, bringing together the 7-Eleven and Circle K brands to create a global convenience store giant.
Japan’s Yomiuri daily reported that ACT’s revised offer, which was reportedly raised to around $47 billion, has already been rejected by a special committee.
Seven & i has also appointed its first foreign CEO, Stephen Dacus.
The company operates around 85,000 convenience stores worldwide, with about a quarter of them located in Japan, where 7-Eleven serves in daily life items, selling everything from fresh rice balls to concert tickets.
ACT, which started with a single store in Quebec in 1980, now runs nearly 17,000 convenience stores worldwide, including Circle K.
