Canadian retail giant makes £29.7bn bid for 7-Eleven

A Canadian convenience store giant has made a surprising £29.7 billion bid for its Japanese rival, 7-Eleven, potentially marking Japan’s largest-ever foreign acquisition.

Circle K owner Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT) announced the bid on Monday, aiming to acquire 7-Eleven, a prominent chain across Asia and North America.

If successful, ACT’s presence in the US and Canada would more than double, expanding to over 20,000 locations.

This news follows significant volatility in the Japanese stock market earlier this month. The offer, approximately 5.6 trillion yen (£29.7 billion), values 7-Eleven at over 20% of its original stock market price.

Seven & i Holdings, the Tokyo-based company that owns 7-Eleven, has established a special committee to evaluate the offer.

It said it had “received a confidential, non-binding and preliminary proposal by ACT to acquire all [of its] outstanding shares”.

“[The] Special Committee intends to conduct a prompt, careful and comprehensive review of the proposal,” it added.

If the deal is finalized, it may encounter scrutiny from competition regulators in North America due to 7-Eleven’s extensive network of over 13,000 stores in the US and Canada, combined with Couche-Tard’s 9,000 locations.

In recent years, activist investors have urged Seven & i Holdings to divest some assets to concentrate on the 7-Eleven brand and its global convenience store operations.

This takeover bid follows notable volatility in the Japanese stock market, marked by both a record decline and a subsequent surge after the central bank’s decision to increase borrowing costs.

7-Eleven was introduced to Japan in 1974 by retail mogul Masatoshi Ito, who passed away in 2023 at age 98. Ito is recognized for transforming the convenience store chain into a global enterprise.

Currently, 7-Eleven operates 85,000 outlets across 20 countries and territories, with a significant presence in Asia.

Quebec-based ACT, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, manages approximately 17,000 stores across more than 30 countries and territories in North America, Europe, and Asia under the Circle K and Couche-Tard brands.

The company has a market valuation of about 80 billion Canadian dollars (approximately $58.2 billion or £45 billion).