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Couche-Tard withdraws its $46 billion bid to buy Japan's Seven & i

Couche-Tard withdraws its $46 billion bid to buy Japan's Seven & i

Alimentation Couche-Tard, a Canadian retailer, withdrew a $46 billion takeover bid for Japan's Seven & i Holdings. It blamed the lack of constructive engagement on the part of Japanese retailer.

The 7-Eleven operator's "konbini stores" would have been the largest foreign acquisition of a Japanese firm.

This is the timeline for the bid:

AUGUST 19, 2020

Couche-Tard says that it has contacted Seven & i regarding a possible takeover. Both companies do not disclose the value of their offer. Seven & i shares surged almost 23%, to 2161 yen, valuing it at approximately 5.6 trillion yen (about 38 billion dollars).

SEPTEMBER 6, 2020

Seven & i rejected Couche-Tard’s offer of $14.86, valuing the business at $38.5 billion.

SEPTEMBER 13TH, 2024

Seven & i is classified as "core" by the Japanese finance ministry, leading to speculation that it could be protected from a takeover.

The 9th of October 2024

Sources say that Couche-Tard has increased its bid for Seven & i to $47 billion. This is a 22% increase.

10 OCTOBER 2024

Seven & i reveals a plan for separating underperforming businesses and focusing on convenience stores. It also assesses Couche-Tard’s revised offer.

16 OCTOBER 2024

Artisan Partners, a U.S.-based fund, urges the Seven & i Board to allow Couche-Tard to conduct due diligence and negotiate a purchase price. They call the Japanese retailer’s restructuring plan “too little, late”.

NOVEMBER 13TH, 2024

Seven & i has announced that a member of the founding Ito family made a white knight bid for $58 billion.

NOVEMBER 14TH, 2024

Artisan Partners encourages the company to use a competitive bid process to ensure that it receives the best offer.

DECEMBER 25, 2020

Sources say that Seven & i received bids in the first round of over $5 billion for its non-core asset from private equity firms KKR Bain Capital, and Japan Industrial Partners.

FEBRUARY 26TH, 2025

Two sources claim that Itochu, a Japanese company, has withdrawn from the proposed buyout of Seven & i by the founding family. Couche-Tard, meanwhile, has reaffirmed its commitment to a purchase.

FEBRUARY 27TH, 2025

Ito Family fails to secure financing of $58 billion for buyout bid

MARCH 6, 2020

Seven & i appoints Stephen Dacus as its first foreign CEO. He is tasked with overhauling the business in order to engineer a turnaround and respond to Couche-Tard’s takeover offer.

10 MARCH 2025

Seven & i has confirmed that it is in discussions with Couche-Tard about a plan to sell its stores in order to overcome U.S. Antitrust concerns over a merger between the two leading players in its convenience-store market. Couche-Tard has revised its January bid to the yen-equivalent 2600 yen a share.

11 MARCH 2025

Couche-Tard is frustrated with Seven & i’s “limited engagement” and believes there is a clear path to overcome U.S. regulations hurdles.

13 MARCH 2025

Alain Bouchard, the chairman of Couche-Tard, says that if Seven & i would cooperate and reveal more financial data to Couche-Tard it could enhance its offer.

MAY 1, 2025

Couche-Tard signs a non-disclosure (NDA) agreement with Seven & i, allowing the Canadian company to access the financial data of the Japanese retailer.

JULY 17, 2020

Couche-Tard pulls out of its $46 billion bid, citing a failure to engage constructively by Seven & i's management and the Ito Family. Seven & i states that it is "fully committed" to its standalone value creation plan. Its shares fell 9% and closed 23% below the original offer price. $1 = 148.5700 yen (Compiled and edited by Clarence Fernandez, Kate Mayberry, Sonali Paul)

(source: Reuters)