Couche-Tard Raises Buyout Offer for Seven & i: Sources

Tokyo, Oct. 9 (Jiji Press)--Canadian convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. has raised its buyout offer for Japanese retail giant Seven & i Holdings Co. to 47.2 billion dollars, or about 7 trillion yen, informed sources said Wednesday.

Alimentation Couche-Tard notified Seven & i of its new offer of 18.19 dollars per share in mid-September, up from the previous 14.86 dollars, according to the sources.

Seven & i issued a comment Wednesday acknowledging that it had received a new non-binding, behind-the-scenes offer. Its special committee, comprising independent outside directors, is believed to be examining the new bid.

In August, the Canadian company announced its initial buyout offer, worth about 6 trillion yen, but the Japanese firm responded that this underestimated its corporate value.

Meanwhile, it was also learned that Seven & i is considering a corporate name change to highlight its stance of focusing on convenience store operations. As the group is considering an early sale of its Ito-Yokado Co. supermarket unit, the new name might not include "i."

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]