7-Eleven Owner Rejects Takeover Offer, Shareholders Are Peeved: Will Couche-Tard Raise Bid?

Last week, 7-Eleven store operator Seven & i Holdings Co. SVNDF SVNDY rejected a takeover offer from Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. ANCTF, saying the deal undervalues the company.

ECanadian store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard remains interested in the $39 billion deal to bring the Japanese convenience store company under its roof.

Couche-Tard, owner of the Circle-K brand, expressed willingness to make divestitures to gain regulatory approval.

Alimentation Couche-Tard is reportedly discussing an increased takeover offer, according to a Bloomberg report on Thursday.

The revised bid would likely be significantly higher than the initial value of $14.86 per share, Bloomberg reported. Couche-Tard has been evaluating how much it could potentially raise its offer.

Couche-Tard is facing a challenging situation. The price difference between both parties is so substantial that it greatly reduces the likelihood of a deal being made.

Seth Fischer, chief investment officer at Seven & i shareholder Oasis Management, told Bloomberg that he’s “disappointed” over the rejected proposal.

“Couche-Tard has put forward a very serious proposal to the company and I am a little bit disappointed with the company’s reaction,” Fischer said.

Fischer added that there would be several buyers for Couche-Tard’s divestitures.

“Convenience stores in Japan are important in national emergencies,” Fischer said in a Bloomberg report, adding that most 7-Elevens are within 500 meters of other stores. “Maybe that means some of those stores should be sold to a domestic owner” in case of any merger.

Now Read: Japanese 7-Eleven Operator Strikes Alimentation Couche-Tard’s ‘Undervalued’ $39B Takeover Offer

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