Japan's largest foreign takeover in history fails
Photo: EPA

The Canadian company Alimentation Couche-Tard, which owns the international chain of Circle K stores, after almost a year of negotiations, has officially refused from an attempted takeover of its Japanese competitor, the retail giant Seven & I Holdings.

The 6.77 trillion yen ($46 billion) deal could be the largest foreign takeover in the history of Japan. However, Couche-Tard withdrew its bid, saying that the Japanese operator of the world's largest convenience store chain, 7-Eleven, refused to engage in "constructive interaction."

According to analytics platform Dealogic, the deal was the largest ever proposed but not completed corporate acquisition in the Asia-Pacific region.

"You have launched a deliberate campaign to obfuscate and delay the process, which has caused enormous damage to Seven & I and its shareholders," Couche-Tard said in a letter to the Japanese company's board of directors.

"While we are disappointed with Couche-Tard's decision, it does not surprise us. We disagree with their numerous misrepresentations of the facts," said Seven & I responded.

Couche-Tard initially proposed to acquire all of Seven & I's business outside of Japan and 40% of its Japanese assets, given the particular importance of konbini (Japanese convenience stores) in the face of natural disasters.

However, the lack of proper access to corporate information and the Ito family's (founders of Seven & I) unwillingness to negotiate put an end to these plans.

In response, Seven & I offered a less attractive option – to sell Couche-Tard's international business in exchange for a stake in the Canadian company, which did not provide the same premium to shareholders as the original offer.

It is worth noting that Couche-Tard did not consider the option of a hostile takeover, which limited its actions.

  • Seven & I operates a network of 85,000 convenience stores in 20 countries and regions, with plans to expand to 100,000 stores in 30 countries and regions by 2030. In 2021, Seven & I acquired Speedway, which operates convenience stores with gas stations in the United States.
  • Alimentation Couche-Tard operates stores in North America, Sweden, Finland, Ireland, Poland and other countries under the Couche-Tard and Circle K brands: about 17,000 stores in almost 30 countries.