After a year of prolonged negotiations marked by dramatic twists and turns, Canadian retailer Alimentation Couche-Tard said it was abandoning its multibillion-dollar bid to acquire the owner of 7-Eleven convenience stores.
When Couche-Tard, which operates Circle K stores, approached Seven & i Holdings — the Japanese owner of 7-Eleven — last summer about a potential acquisition, it set off a whirlwind of activity around the struggling retail giant.
Over the past year, Seven & i has fielded not only the $47 billion offer from Couche-Tard but a takeover attempt from the son of its founder. It has also seen the arrival of a new management team, led by a Japanese American retail executive.
In a letter to Seven & i’s board Thursday, Couche-Tard said it was withdrawing its proposal because of a lack of “sincere or constructive engagement”. It accused Seven & i of a “calculated campaign of obfuscation and delay”.
Seven & i said that it would accept Couche-Tard’s decision, though it found the announcement “regrettable”. It also defended its actions, saying the Couche-Tard letter contained “numerous inaccurate statements” and that its special committee had engaged in “sincere and constructive discussions”.
The battle for control of 7-Eleven has been widely watched as a barometer of the sweeping changes underway in corporate Japan. It’s seen as a test of how far Japanese companies, long burdened by low valuations, are willing to go to boost shareholder value.