U.S. Fund Urges Seven & i to Enter into Takeover Talks

Tokyo, Oct. 17 (Jiji Press)--U.S. investment fund Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. said Wednesday that it has sent a letter to Seven & i Holdings Co. urging the Japanese retailer to enter into talks on a takeover proposal from Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.

In the letter, Artisan Partners criticized Seven & i's plans to separate non-convenience store operations as a "tactic designed to impede and drive away a bona fide bid."

The Japanese company should allow the Canadian convenience store operator to conduct due diligence and negotiate a purchase price that maximizes value for Seven & i shareholders without delay, the fund said.

Seven & i last month received a 7-trillion-yen takeover bid from Couche-Tard. Artisan Partners claims that it owns over 1 pct of the Japanese company.

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