Couche-Tard Withdraws $47 Billion Offer For Japan’s Seven & i

Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD) has withdrawn its $47 billion U.S. bid to acquire Japan’s Seven & i Holdings (SVNDY), owner of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain. In Japanese trading, Seven & i stock fell more than 15% on news that Couche-Tard had pulled its takeover offer for the company. Laval, Quebec-based Couche-Tard, which already operates more than 16,000 convenience stores worldwide, expressed disappointment that the deal could not be completed.In a news release, Couche-Tard said it was pulling its takeover bid for Seven & I because of a “persistent lack of good faith engagement.”For its part, Seven and i called Couche-Tard’s comments “inaccurate.” However, in 2024, Seven and i rejected a buyout proposal from Couche-Tard, which had initially offered $14.86 U.S. per share, saying it “grossly undervalues” the company.Couche-Tard then raised its offer last October by more than 20% to $18.19 U.S. per share, valuing Seven & i at 7 trillion Japanese yen, or about $47 billion U.S.“We do believe that fully combining our two companies is the most straightforward and effective way to maximize value to all stakeholders,” Couche-Tard said last autumn. Many analysts had expressed doubts that Couche-Tard would be able to acquire Seven & i given Japan’s efforts to protect its domestic companies. Seven & i is widely viewed as one of Japan’s most successful global companies and has been classified by the government as being core to Japan’s national security.Seven & i appointed outside director Stephen Dacus as its new chief executive officer (CEO) in May of this year. Dacus was viewed as being against the takeover by Couch-Tard. So far in 2025, the stock of Alimentation Couche-Tard has declined 14% to trade at $68.32 per share in Toronto.