Seven & i says Couche-Tard understates antitrust risk in takeover proposal

A Couche Tard convenience store is shown in Montreal, Friday, Oct. 5, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes.

The Japanese parent company of 7-Eleven says Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. is understating the antitrust risk related to its takeover offer for the company.

In a pair of documents, Seven & i Holdings Co. Ltd. says the proposal is a transformational cross-border acquisition involving significant regulatory hurdles unlike other deals done by the Quebec-based convenience store operator.

The Japanese company says it is working with Couche-Tard to evaluate potential divestitures to increase the likelihood of satisfying U.S. antitrust regulators and any potential court challenge.

However, it says it will not enter into a transaction with no clear path to closing that could leave the company in a “value destructive limbo” for multiple years.

“We have been insistent on ensuring a clear path to antitrust regulatory approval as a first step for one reason: a deal that doesn’t close is not a deal, and it will destroy shareholder value,” Seven & i said in a statement.

Couche-Tard said earlier this month that it believes there is a clear path to regulatory approval in the U.S. and that it has a successful track record of working with U.S. and other regulators to secure approvals of transactions.

“We have reiterated several times over the past few months that we intend to be friendly and persistent in pursuing a transaction, which we believe is in the best interest of all stakeholders,” Couche-Tard said.

In October, Seven & i said it received a revised non-binding proposal from Couche-Tard that media reports suggested was valued at US$47 billion, about 22 per cent higher than an offer it made in August.

A management buyout proposal for Seven & i by a member of the family that helped found the company collapsed last month after it was unable to secure financing.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2025.