Seven & i Holdings Co, the Japanese convenience store chain operator valued at about US$31 billion, has received a buyout proposal from Canadian rival Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc in what would be the largest-ever foreign takeover of a Japanese company if realized.
The “confidential, preliminary” offer would be examined by an independent committee and the board of directors has made no determination at this time whether to accept or reject it, said Seven & i in a statement yesterday, following a report on the bid by Japan’s Nikkei newspaper. Neither offered details on the value of Couche-Tard’s offer.
Shares in the Japanese company jumped 23 percent in Tokyo yesterday, their largest gain on record.
Photo: Reuters
Seven & i has come under pressure from activist fund ValueAct Capital Management LP over perceptions that its assets are worth more than the company is capitalizing on. In reaction, it has taken restructuring measures and initiated a buyback after fending off efforts to oust chief executive officer Ryuichi Isaka.
ValueAct previously pushed the Japanese retailer to narrow its business focus to 7-Eleven stores, saying that as a standalone listed company the convenient store business could be worth as much as ￥8,500 per share. Seven & i shares closed at ￥2,161 yesterday.
While best known for its 7-Eleven stores, the company’s operations also include Denny’s Corp’s Japan restaurants, the Ito-Yokado supermarket chain and its own bank. Globally, its empire spans 85,000 convenience stores, gasoline stations and retail outlets.
Couche-Tard, with a market value of C$80 billion (US$58.5 billion), operates convenience stores around the world under its own brand, as well as Circle K and Ingo.
“It all depends on the price, and I guess the weak yen has made it more attractive and anything north of ￥7 trillion, the management would have a tough time rejecting,” said Amir Anvarzadeh, a strategist at Asymmetric Advisors Pte.
However, “knowing the Seven & i management, you can bet on them resisting this if the price is lower,” he added.
Couche-Tard’s balance sheet itself might not be strong enough to sustain a strong cash offer, LightStream Research analyst Mio Kato said.
“I don’t think Seven & i would want to sell and without an attractive cash offer, I think the probability of something happening is quite slim,” he said.
Semiconductor shares in China surged yesterday after Reuters reported the US had ordered chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, which investors believe could accelerate Beijing’s self-reliance efforts. TSMC yesterday started to suspend shipments of certain sophisticated chips to some Chinese clients after receiving a letter from the US Department of Commerce imposing export restrictions on those products, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed source. The US imposed export restrictions on TSMC’s 7-nanometer or more advanced designs, Reuters reported. Investors figured that would encourage authorities to support China’s industry and bought shares
TECH WAR CONTINUES: The suspension of TSMC AI chips and GPUs would be a heavy blow to China’s chip designers and would affect its competitive edge Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, is reportedly to halt supply of artificial intelligence (AI) chips and graphics processing units (GPUs) made on 7-nanometer or more advanced process technologies from next week in order to comply with US Department of Commerce rules. TSMC has sent e-mails to its Chinese AI customers, informing them about the suspension starting on Monday, Chinese online news outlet Ijiwei.com (愛集微) reported yesterday. The US Department of Commerce has not formally unveiled further semiconductor measures against China yet. “TSMC does not comment on market rumors. TSMC is a law-abiding company and we are
FLEXIBLE: Taiwan can develop its own ground station equipment, and has highly competitive manufacturers and suppliers with diversified production, the MOEA said The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday disputed reports that suppliers to US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) had been asked to move production out of Taiwan. Reuters had reported on Tuesday last week that Elon Musk-owned SpaceX had asked their manufacturers to produce outside of Taiwan given geopolitical risks and that at least one Taiwanese supplier had been pushed to relocate production to Vietnam. SpaceX’s requests place a renewed focus on the contentious relationship Musk has had with Taiwan, especially after he said last year that Taiwan is an “integral part” of China, sparking sharp criticism from Taiwanese authorities. The ministry said
US President Joe Biden’s administration is racing to complete CHIPS and Science Act agreements with companies such as Intel Corp and Samsung Electronics Co, aiming to shore up one of its signature initiatives before US president-elect Donald Trump enters the White House. The US Department of Commerce has allocated more than 90 percent of the US$39 billion in grants under the act, a landmark law enacted in 2022 designed to rebuild the domestic chip industry. However, the agency has only announced one binding agreement so far. The next two months would prove critical for more than 20 companies still in the process
RSS