Couche‑Tard Withdraws $47 Billion Bid for Seven & i, Citing Lack of Engagement

Rahaman Hadisur
Jul 24
2 min read

Hadisur Rahman, JadeTimes Staff

H. Rahman is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Business

Canadian convenience store giant Alimentation Couche‑Tard abruptly ended its pursuit of Seven & i Holdings on Thursday, pulling a $47 billion takeover bid that would have marked the largest foreign acquisition of a Japanese company.

In a sharply worded letter to Seven & i’s board, Couche‑Tard said the Japanese retailer had shown “no sincere or constructive engagement” despite months of negotiations and repeated efforts to move the talks forward.

“You have engaged in a calculated campaign of obfuscation and delay, to the great detriment of 7&i and its shareholders,” the letter stated.

The decision deals a blow to Couche‑Tard’s ambition to merge with the owner of 7‑Eleven and create a dominant global convenience store chain.

Seven & i responded that while it was “disappointed” by Couche‑Tard’s withdrawal, it “disagrees with their numerous mischaracterizations.” Shares of Seven & i fell 9% in Tokyo trading after the announcement.

The Canadian operator, which owns Circle K, had raised its bid last year and in March signaled it was willing to increase it further if Seven & i provided additional financial information. Both parties had signed a non‑disclosure agreement, but Couche‑Tard criticized the limited due diligence access, saying only two tightly controlled management meetings were granted.

Manoj Jain, co‑founder and co‑CIO of Hong Kong‑based Maso Capital, described the outcome as disappointing:

“We believe there is significant value to be realised in a combination and have expressed this view to the management and the board.”

Couche‑Tard revealed it had also floated alternative structures, including acquiring all of Seven & i’s business outside Japan and 40% of its domestic operations. It argued this would ease regulatory hurdles, given Japan’s reliance on convenience stores as part of disaster‑response infrastructure.

Seven & i countered with its own idea selling its international operations in exchange for a stake in Couche‑Tard but the Canadian firm dismissed the offer, saying it failed to deliver “the significant premium” envisioned in its original proposals.

The failed bid was widely seen as a test of corporate Japan’s openness to foreign takeovers, particularly after Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel earlier this year. Seven & i has faced shareholder pressure to improve lackluster earnings, and its first foreign CEO, Stephen Dacus, has pledged to focus on independent growth.

The retailer has already announced share buybacks, the sale of non‑core assets, and plans to list its North American convenience store business.

“It shows you can drag out the process to avoid being bought out,” one anonymous investor told reporters. “Given how long Couche‑Tard’s process has taken, I can’t see anyone else coming in with a bid.”

For now, Seven & i insists it remains committed to its standalone strategy, while Couche‑Tard’s withdrawal signals an abrupt end to what could have been a transformative deal for the global retail landscape.