(Reuters) -Canadian retailer Alimentation Couche-Tard withdrew its $46-billion takeover offer for Japan’s Seven & i Holdings, blaming a lack of constructive engagement by the Japanese retailer.
The deal for the operator of 7-Eleven “konbini” stores would have been the biggest foreign buyout of a Japanese company.
Here is a timeline of the bid:
AUGUST 19, 2024
Couche-Tard, owner of Circle-K stores, says it has sounded out Seven & i about a potential takeover. The companies disclose no offer value. Shares in Seven & i surge almost 23% to 2161 yen valuing the retailer at about 5.6 trillion yen ($38 billion).
SEPTEMBER 6, 2024
Seven & i rejects Couche-Tard’s offer of $14.86 a share, valuing the company at $38.5 billion.
SEPTEMBER 13, 2024
Japan’s finance ministry classifies Seven & i as “core” to national security, prompting speculation that this could help defend it from a takeover.
OCTOBER 9, 2024
Couche-Tard raises bid for Seven & i by 22%, valuing the company at about $47 billion, sources say.
OCTOBER 10, 2024
Seven & i unveils a plan to hive off underperforming businesses into a holding company and focus on its convenience stores, while assessing Couche-Tard’s revised bid.
OCTOBER 16, 2024
U.S. fund Artisan Partners urges Seven & i board to let Couche-Tard undertake due diligence and negotiate a takeover price, calling the Japanese retailer’s restructuring plan “too little, too late”.
NOVEMBER 13, 2024
Seven & i says it has received a potential $58-billion white knight buyout bid from a member of its founding Ito family.
NOVEMBER 14, 2024
Artisan Partners urges it to consider a competitive bidding process to secure the highest offer.
DECEMBER 25, 2024
Seven & i receives first-round bids of more than $5 billion from private equity firms KKR, Bain Capital and Japan Industrial Partners for its non-core assets, sources say.
FEBRUARY 26, 2025
Japan’s Itochu withdraws from the buyout for Seven & i proposed by the retailer’s founding family, two sources say, while Couche-Tard reaffirms its commitment to a takeover.
FEBRUARY 27, 2025
The Ito family fails to secure financing for its $58 billion buyout bid.
MARCH 6, 2025
Seven & i appoints its first foreign CEO, Stephen Dacus, tasking him with overhauling its business to engineer a recovery and respond to Couche-Tard’s takeover proposal.
MARCH 10, 2025
Seven & i says it is in talks with Couche-Tard over a store sale plan to help overcome U.S. antitrust concerns about a merger of the top two players in its convenience store market. Couche-Tard says it revised its proposed bid in January to yen-equivalent of 2600 yen per share.
MARCH 11, 2025
Couche-Tard expresses frustration with Seven & i’s “limited engagement”, and says it sees a “clear path” to overcome U.S. regulatory hurdles.
MARCH 13, 2025
Chairman Alain Bouchard says Couche-Tard could bolster its offer if Seven & i became more cooperative and revealed more financial information.
MAY 1, 2025
Couche-Tard and Seven & i sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) giving the Canadian company access to the Japanese retailer’s financial data.
JULY 17, 2025
Couche-Tard withdraws its $46-billion bid, citing a lack of constructive engagement by Seven & i management and the Ito family. Seven & i says it remains “fully committed to our standalone value creation plan”. Its shares slide 9% to close 23% below the offer price.
($1=148.5700 yen)
(Compiled by Sonali Paul; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Kate Mayberry)
