TOKYO (AFP) – Shares in the Japanese company that owns 7-Eleven surged on Wednesday following a report that Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT) had hiked its buyout offer for the firm by almost 20 percent.
Seven & i, Japan’s biggest retailer, last month rejected an initial buyout offer from ACT, saying the $40 billion proposal undervalued its business and could face regulatory hurdles.
If realised, it would be the biggest foreign takeover of a Japanese firm.
But Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday that ACT had upgraded its offer to $18.19 per share, or a total of around seven trillion yen ($47.2 billion).
Shares in Seven & i jumped nearly 12 percent in early trade, before easing back to sit up 4.7 percent by mid-morning.
The new offer was sent to Seven & i on September 19, Bloomberg said, citing unnamed sources, adding that no substantive negotiations have taken place since then.
Seven & i declined to comment on the report when contacted by AFP.
