While Alimentation Couche-Tard remains interested in buying Seven & i, the parent company of 7-Eleven, it will not attempt a hostile takeover, Chairman and Co-Founder Alain Bouchard said in an interview last week with Nikkei Asia.
Hostile takeovers can include buying a majority share of the company’s stock, appealing directly to large shareholders or trying to get the board of directors replaced with more acquisition-friendly members.
Couche-Tard, parent company of Circle K, announced in August that it was pursuing Seven & i. The first bid was turned down, but Couche-Tard has since entered a second proposal, which some of Seven & I’s investors have urged the company to seriously consider.
The Nikkei Asia interview came as Seven & i considers an alternate bid recently received from Ito-Kogyo, a private company affiliated with Junro Ito, Seven & i’s vice president and representative director. Ito-Kogyo is Seven & i’s second-largest shareholder, owning about 8% of the company.
While neither bid has been publicly disclosed, reports put the Couche-Tard offer at around $47 billion, while Ito-Kogyo’s is thought to be around $58 billion.
When asked if Couche-Tard would increase its bid again, CEO Alex Miller also told Nikkei Asia during the interview that "the current proposed price is attractive for all stakeholders."
While Couche-Tard said it will not pursue a hostile takeover of Seven & i, it is no stranger to the strategy. The company attempted such a move on Casey’s General Stores in 2010.
