The Japanese company that owns 7-Eleven has received a buyout offer from the Canadian owner of Circle-K that, if it goes through, could corner about a fifth of the global convenience store market.
Seven & I Holdings said on its website Monday that it received a “non-binding and preliminary” proposal from Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (ACT).
Under the proposal, ACT would buy all outstanding shares of Seven & i Holdings, which has formed a special committee of independent directors to review the offer.
“No determination has been made at this time to either accept or reject the proposal from ACT,” Seven & i Holdings said in its statement.
The deal could be valued in the tens of billions of dollars.
7-Eleven, with U.S. headquarters in Irving, Texas, runs the most convenience stores in the U.S. and around the world, with a 14.5% market share as of last year. There are at least 85,000 7-Elevens.
ACT operates 4.6% of the convenience store market, GlobalData managing director Neil Saunders told the AP.
Couche-Tard acquired Circle K, which was also first established in Texas, in 2003. It now operates nearly 17,000 stores across North America and Europe.
Bill Zeeble is KERA’s education reporter. Got a tip? Email Bill at bzeeble@kera.org. You can follow him on X @bzeeble.
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