Seven & i Suggests Couche-Tard Sell U.S. Stores for Takeover

Jiji Press

9:55 JST, March 11, 2025

Tokyo (Jiji Press)—Japanese retailer Seven & i Holdings Co. said Monday that it has suggested that Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. sell off its U.S. stores to further the acquisition talks by the Canadian convenience store chain.

The proposal was made to address concerns about possible U.S. antitrust law breaches over Couche-Tard’s attempt to take over Seven & i.

The Canadian company agreed to consider one of the options presented by the Japanese retailer. The two have started moves to find a third-party buyer.

Owning the 7-Eleven chain, Seven & i boasts the largest share in the U.S. convenience store market, with Couche-Tard in second place. Seven & i says that Couche-Tard’s acquisition of the Japanese company would lead to U.S. antitrust law breaches.

According to a letter sent by Seven & i to its shareholders, a special committee of the company said that if Couche-Tard fails to streamline its stores before the deal is struck, there could be antitrust law violation issues. Seven & i would have to bear an “unacceptable burden of risk” of the deal not being realized, it said.

In order to address such concerns, Seven & i provided Couche-Tard with three options. One was for the Canadian company to sell all its stores in the United States in a “clean sweep,” another was for Couche-Tard to sell at least 2,000 stores that are in competition with those operated by Seven & i as a precondition for the takeover deal, and the final proposal was for the two sides to search for buyers of Couche-Tard stores together.

Couche-Tard accepted the third option and agreed to proceed with the selection of stores and potential buyers, Seven & i said.