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Toronto Sun
17-07-2025
- Business
- Toronto Sun
'Persistent lack of good faith engagement': Couche-Tard abandons $11B takeover of 7-Eleven owner
Canadian convenience store giant says it received 'no sincere or constructive engagement' from Seven & i Holdings Published Jul 16, 2025 • Last updated 30 minutes ago • 2 minute read Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard has withdrawn its proposed acquisition of Seven & i Holdings Co., the Japanese parent company of 7-Eleven, after months of what it described as limited cooperation. In a scathing letter on Wednesday and addressed to Seven & i's board of directors, the Laval-based retailer said it was stepping back from its ¥2,600-per-share all-cash offer, worth approximately $11 billion, due to 'a persistent lack of good faith engagement.' 'We continue to believe that a combination of Seven & i Holdings and Alimentation Couche-Tard would create a global leader in convenience,' the letter said. 'However, we are not able to effectively pursue this combination without deeper and genuine further engagement.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Couche-Tard said its proposal, submitted earlier this year, represented a 47.6 per cent premium to Seven & i's unaffected share price. It said the offer was fully financed and included a plan to obtain regulatory approvals, particularly in the United States. The company stated it had entered into a non-disclosure agreement with Seven & i following an April 18 meeting in Tokyo but had since received 'no sincere or constructive engagement… contrary to comments made publicly by 7&i representatives, including in the July 11, 2025 earnings call in which 7&i noted it is 'seriously' considering our proposal.' It also alleged that Seven & i had 'engaged in a calculated campaign of obfuscation and delay.' Couche-Tard said it received just 14 files relating to Seven & i's U.S. operations over a 10-week period and that 'none of our critical questions were answered.' It also said two management meetings—one in Dallas and one in Tokyo—yielded limited insights, with executives declining to answer key questions. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'At the Dallas meeting… the content of the meeting was, as your advisor characterized it, a 'readout,'' the letter stated. 'When one 7-Eleven executive attempted to thoughtfully address a question… he was interrupted and rebuked by Mr. Dacus who pointed to his head as if to remind his colleague to 'think.' Mr. Dacus also declared in the meeting that the discussion was a management presentation and 'not due diligence.'' On regulatory issues, Couche-Tard said it had proposed a term sheet with specific store divestiture plans and a reverse termination fee worth over $1.4 billion, but that Seven & i 'was not willing to share the required information with potential buyers.' In a bid to find common ground, Couche-Tard said it proposed acquiring 100 per cent of Seven & i's non-Japanese operations and 40 per cent of its domestic business, leaving 60 per cent with existing shareholders. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. However, it said Seven & i instead proposed contributing its U.S. business into Couche-Tard in exchange for equity, which Couche-Tard argued would not deliver the 'significant premium' its proposal offered and would 'undermine the operational prospects of the combined business.' The company concluded: 'We remain as excited as ever about the path forward for (Alimentation Couche-Tard)… However, we are not able to effectively pursue this combination without deeper and genuine further engagement from 7&i leadership and the special committee. Accordingly, we are withdrawing our proposal at this time.' Couche-Tard operates nearly 17,000 stores across 29 countries and territories, under the Circle K and Couche-Tard banners, and employs approximately 146,000 people. It is one of the largest independent convenience store operators in the U.S. Its founder, Alain Bouchard, is the richest man in Quebec, according to The Gazette Rich List. 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Montreal Gazette
16-07-2025
- Business
- Montreal Gazette
‘Persistent lack of good faith engagement': Couche-Tard abandons $11B takeover of 7-Eleven owner
Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard has withdrawn its proposed acquisition of Seven & i Holdings Co., the Japanese parent company of 7-Eleven, after months of what it described as limited cooperation. In a scathing letter on Wednesday and addressed to Seven & i's board of directors, the Laval-based retailer said it was stepping back from its ¥2,600-per-share all-cash offer, worth approximately $11 billion, due to 'a persistent lack of good faith engagement.' 'We continue to believe that a combination of Seven & i Holdings and Alimentation Couche-Tard would create a global leader in convenience,' the letter said. 'However, we are not able to effectively pursue this combination without deeper and genuine further engagement.' Couche-Tard said its proposal, submitted earlier this year, represented a 47.6 per cent premium to Seven & i's unaffected share price. It said the offer was fully financed and included a plan to obtain regulatory approvals, particularly in the United States. The company stated it had entered into a non-disclosure agreement with Seven & i following an April 18 meeting in Tokyo but had since received 'no sincere or constructive engagement… contrary to comments made publicly by 7&i representatives, including in the July 11, 2025 earnings call in which 7&i noted it is 'seriously' considering our proposal.' It also alleged that Seven & i had 'engaged in a calculated campaign of obfuscation and delay.' Couche-Tard said it received just 14 files relating to Seven & i's U.S. operations over a 10-week period and that 'none of our critical questions were answered.' It also said two management meetings—one in Dallas and one in Tokyo—yielded limited insights, with executives declining to answer key questions. 'At the Dallas meeting… the content of the meeting was, as your advisor characterized it, a 'readout,'' the letter stated. 'When one 7-Eleven executive attempted to thoughtfully address a question… he was interrupted and rebuked by Mr. Dacus who pointed to his head as if to remind his colleague to 'think.' Mr. Dacus also declared in the meeting that the discussion was a management presentation and 'not due diligence.'' On regulatory issues, Couche-Tard said it had proposed a term sheet with specific store divestiture plans and a reverse termination fee worth over $1.4 billion, but that Seven & i 'was not willing to share the required information with potential buyers.' In a bid to find common ground, Couche-Tard said it proposed acquiring 100 per cent of Seven & i's non-Japanese operations and 40 per cent of its domestic business, leaving 60 per cent with existing shareholders. However, it said Seven & i instead proposed contributing its U.S. business into Couche-Tard in exchange for equity, which Couche-Tard argued would not deliver the 'significant premium' its proposal offered and would 'undermine the operational prospects of the combined business.' The company concluded: 'We remain as excited as ever about the path forward for (Alimentation Couche-Tard)… However, we are not able to effectively pursue this combination without deeper and genuine further engagement from 7&i leadership and the special committee. Accordingly, we are withdrawing our proposal at this time.' Couche-Tard operates nearly 17,000 stores across 29 countries and territories, under the Circle K and Couche-Tard banners, and employs approximately 146,000 people. It is one of the largest independent convenience store operators in the U.S. Its founder, Alain Bouchard, is the richest man in Quebec, according to The Gazette Rich List.
CBC
05-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Quebec companies announce layoffs ahead of Trump tariffs
Quebec manufacturers are announcing layoffs, saying U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated threats of tariffs, now expected to come into effect in a month, are already affecting sales. The U.S. is Quebec's top trading partner, with most manufacturers in the province trading and selling to American companies and consumers. Montreal-based tights manufacturer Sheertex (SRTX), now a publicly traded company, announced on LinkedIn Wednesday morning it would be temporarily laying off 40 per cent of its 350 employees in preparation for the tariffs. Katherine Homuth, the company's CEO and founder, wrote that although the U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods are planned at 25 per cent, SRTX is facing 41 per cent tariffs across its U.S. shipments due to additional duty fees it faces. "We are in a worst case scenario," Homuth wrote, explaining that the company's tights cannot be considered to be made in Canada because SRTX imports more than nine per cent of its raw materials. The company is using the 30-day delay on tariffs — announced after a phone call between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump Monday — to move some of its inventory to the U.S., where Sheertex does 85 per cent of its sales. The layoffs are temporary but come at a time when SRTX has been fundraising additional capital to stay afloat. "If you believe in the importance of making things here, in building not just brands, but the factories and technologies that power them, now is the time to stand with manufacturers," Homuth wrote. Another up and coming Quebec manufacturer, furniture-maker South Shore, also announced on Wednesday that it would be laying off 115 employees. In a news release, the company said 70 per cent of its sales are conducted in the U.S. and that it had seen those plummet in the face of Trump's tariff threats. It said the threats had prompted the company's American buyers to increase their imports of Asian products. The layoffs include 97 jobs at South Shore's head office plant in Sainte-Croix, a town 200 kilometres northeast of Montreal on the St. Lawrence River. Another 18 employees at South Shore's Coaticook plant in the Eastern Townships will be affected. "South Shore is calling on consumers to turn massively to Canadian products to collectively face this unprecedented situation," the news release said. The company, which was founded in 1940, noted it had already survived several economic crises and that it intended to review its current business model. Uniboard, a Laval-based wood products manufacturer, said Tuesday it would be temporarily closing five production lines at its plant in Sayabec in the Gaspésie region. Fifteen employees will lose their jobs, which CEO James Hogg said represented less than 10 per cent of the company's roughly 400-employee workforce. He attributed the layoffs to the uncertainty caused by U.S. tariff threats. "We don't know exactly what the customer reactions are going to be. Are they going to cancel orders? Are they going to put things on hold? Those are all [reactions] we've seen since Sunday," Hogg said. Hogg said he hopes the company will be able to resume its normal operations if Trump drops his tariffs idea.
