After nearly a year of getting ghosted by 7-Eleven, Canada’s convenience store king has gotten the message that it’s time to start seeing other people.
Driving the news: Québec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard has abandoned its US$46 billion bid to acquire Seven & i, the Tokyo-based owner of 7-Eleven, accusing the retail giant of stonewalling the takeover negotiations.
- Couche-Tard execs wrote that Seven & i’s leadership “engaged in a calculated campaign of obfuscation and delay,” which is the boardroom equivalent of a breakup text saying “you broke my heart.”
- Couche-Tard said it offered alternative proposals to an outright takeover — including buying the company’s international business outside of Japan — but was rebuffed.
Catch-up: This isn’t the first time Couche-Tard has failed to pull off a mega merger with a foreign retailer. Between 2019 and 2021, the company made offers to acquire France’s Carrefour and Australia’s Caltex, both of which fell through.
Why it matters: A buyout of 7-Eleven would have immediately made the Canadian company the largest convenience store chain in the world. Now, after another unsuccessful courtship, Couche-Tard will have to head back to the drawing board for its expansion plans.
Zoom out: Japan has long been resistant to foreign buyouts, and Seven & i’s cold shoulder shows just how tough it remains for Canadian companies to buy their way into the Japanese market. If you see how awesome 7-Elevens in Japan are, you can understand why they’re so protective.—LA