Investing.com — Canadian convenience store giant Alimentation Couche Tard Inc (TSX:) has made a preliminary offer to buy Japan’s Seven & i Holdings (TYO:), the owner of the 7-Eleven chain, said on Monday.
Seven & i Holdings in a statement said that the company has received a confidential, non-binding acquisition proposal from Alimentation Couche-Tard.
In response to media reports regarding the bid, Seven & i Holdings confirmed that its board of Directors has formed a special committee to review the proposal. The committee is led by Stephen Hayes Dacus, who serves as chairperson of the board.
“We view 7&i’s decision to keep independence of the committee as
positive, but hurdles remain on the scale of the transaction and antitrust issues,” said analysts from Jefferies in a note.
The company’s statement clarified that no decision has yet been made regarding the acceptance or rejection of Alimentation Couche-Tard’s proposal.
The board and the special committee have not entered into any formal discussions with Alimentation Couche-Tard or pursued alternative transactions at this time, the company said.
Shares of Seven & i Holdings closed 22.7% higher on Monday.