U.S. Fund Urges Seven & i to Allow Due Diligence on $47 Billion Couche-Tard Offer

Artisan Partners, a U.S. fund, called on Seven & i Holdings to allow due diligence on Alimentation Couche-Tard’s $47 billion buyout offer, urging the Japanese company to expedite the process amid concerns over its restructuring efforts. The acquisition would mark the largest foreign takeover of a Japanese firm.

Artisan Partners Criticizes Seven & i's Restructuring Plan, Calls Couche-Tard's $47B Offer Superior

Alimentation Couche-Tard, a Canadian company, has requested that the board of Seven & i Holdings allow it to conduct due diligence and negotiate a purchase price following its $47 billion offer to acquire the Japanese retail company. Artisan Partners, a U.S. fund, has made this request.

In a report by Reuters, the 7-Eleven owner's restructuring plan, which involves consolidating non-core assets into a holding company, was deemed "too little, too late" by Artisan portfolio managers David Samra and Benjamin Herrick in a letter dated Oct. 15.

"The price currently being offered by ACT is clearly superior to the speculative value that could potentially be achieved by implementing the restructuring plan at this late date," they said in the letter.

A spokesperson for Seven & i declined to provide public commentary on the firm's interactions with individual shareholders or the current status of discussions with Alimentation Couche-Tard.

Couche-Tard Raises Offer for Seven & i to $47B as Foreign Investors Push for Transparency

Last week, sources reported that the Canadian company had increased its offer by 22% to approximately $47 billion following the announcement of a preliminary proposal for Seven & I in August. If it proceeds, the transaction would represent the most extensive overseas acquisition of a Japanese company in history.

Some of Seven & i's most vocal foreign investors, including Artisan, have encouraged the company to concentrate on its primary convenience store business.

The letter also specifies that Seven & i are required to disclose the identities of the special committee members established to evaluate the bid.

It stated that the committee has only disclosed the chairman, which "raises the possibility that management-friendly members have been selectively selected to serve on the committee."

Artisan had previously written a letter to Seven & I in August urging the company to consider ACT's initial, lower offer and solicit offers for the company's Japanese subsidiaries.

According to data from LSEG, Artisan controls 1.11% of Seven &'s outstanding shares.