New offer from 7-Eleven owner could derail Couche-Tard and include US IPO

Another hat could soon be thrown into the bidding cupboard. The Japanese Ito family, the founders of the 7-Eleven chain in the country, is set to launch a management buyout of Seven & i Holdings $3382 (-2.25%) worth 9 trillion yen (60 billion dollars). The offer would be against
an offer of 7.1 trillion yen (47 billion dollars) from Canadian company Alimentation Couche-Tard
$ATD (+1.09%) a multinational convenience store operator that owns rival Circle K in the US.

Background:

Seven & I
has long been under pressure from activist shareholders and rejected an initial offer from Couche-Tard in September on the grounds that the company undervalued its business and failed to address regulatory concerns. A higher offer was eventually made, but new efforts are being made to prevent the brand from falling into foreign hands. An offer from the founding Ito family would prevent the largest takeover in Japan and lead to Seven & I being split into three independent companies.

The first would raise more than one trillion yen (6.6 billion dollars) in cash via the IPO of the North American 7-Eleven businesses (as well as gas station subsidiaries Speedway and Sunoco). These businesses generated sales of 70.3 billion dollars in the last fiscal year, demonstrating the strength and reach of the company. Another planned unit would include 7-Eleven convenience stores in Japan, while the latest division was announced back in October and would be created by spinning off Seven & I's non-core Japanese businesses such as supermarkets, specialty stores and retail outlets.