Couche-Tard not giving up on bid to acquire 7-Eleven’s owner

CANADIAN convenience store and fuel retailer Alimentation Couche-Tard remains committed to snapping up its Japanese rival Seven & i Holdings despite a new management buyout proposal valued at about US$58 billion.

“We will be persistent and continue our friendly approach to creating what we see as the most compelling outcome for all shareholders, employees and key constituencies of both companies,” said Couche-Tard’s chief executive officer Alex Miller in a conference call with analysts on Tuesday (Nov 26).

In September, the Circle K owner increased its offer to about US$47 billion to acquire all of Seven & i, the parent company of the 7-Eleven stores. The founding Ito family is now seeking to fend off the approach with a non-binding management buyout proposal of around nine trillion yen (S$79 billion). Seven & i has yet to respond to the offers.

“We also remain confident in our ability to finance and complete this combination,” Miller said. “We continue to see a strong opportunity to grow together and enhance our offerings and service to millions of customers across the globe.”

Bloomberg Intelligence’s financial analyst Diana Rosero-Pena said on BNN Bloomberg Television that Couche-Tard has “about less than US$10 billion of balance sheet capacity for more acquisitions”. She added that the Seven & i deal is “still probably not happening”.

Couche-Tard’s day-to-day operations have faced headwinds during the past year as challenging economic conditions have caused low-income customers to spend less in stores and on fuel. The company reported adjusted earnings per share of 74 US cents in its second quarter ended Oct 13, slightly below estimates.

Shares dropped as much as 3.6 per cent, the most since June, to C$75, but quickly recovered, trading at C$77.74 at 10.21 am Toronto time. BLOOMBERG

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