ALIMENTATION Couche-Tard sent Seven & i Holdings a new potential acquisition price of seven trillion yen (S$61.6 billion), sources with knowledge of the matter said, showing that the Canadian company is still seeking to enter takeover talks after its initial bid was rejected.
The indicated offer of US$18.19 per share was sent to Seven & i on Sep 19, the sources said, asking not to be identified because the information is not public. The figure represents a premium of around 20 per cent from the prior offer and the company’s stock price from Tuesday (Oct 8). Shares in Seven & I rose as much as 12 per cent following the news.
No substantive negotiations have taken place since the new offer, the sources added.
The fresh attempt to enter talks shows that Couche-Tard is not giving up on its takeover effort, which is being closely watched as a sign of whether Japan’s attempts to boost corporate activity will be taken seriously by its biggest companies. The owner of 7-Eleven stores rejected the first price of US$14.86 per share sent by the Canadian retailer in August, saying it did not fully reflect Seven & i’s worth and was not high enough to engage in talks.
Since then, Seven & i sought, and received, a designation of being a core business essential to national security, a step that was seen as an attempt to make it harder for a foreign entity to take over the Japanese retailer.
Representatives for Couche-Tard and Seven & i did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Seven & i is scheduled to report quarterly results on Thursday, and is likely to face questions over its resistance to Couche-Tard’s approach. News has been trickling out over the past week suggesting that the owner of 7-Eleven is ready to restructure its business, such as the sale of retail operations including its original Ito-Yokado franchise and supermarkets, as well as part of its stake in Seven Bank.
Couche-Tard’s second proposed takeover price represents a premium of 53 per cent from the Japanese company’s mid-August stock price, just before its approach became public. BLOOMBERG
