Owner of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain gets takeover bid from Canada’s Couche-Tard

The owner of 7-Eleven convenience stores and other retail chains has received a buyout offer from Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard.

Japan’s Seven & i Holdings on Monday said that a special committee that made up of outside directors has been formed to review the bid, but released no other details.

Shares of Seven & i jumped 23% in Tokyo, the largest single day jump for the stock in the company’s history.

“This potential takeover bid is a huge deal. 7-Eleven is the biggest operator in the US convenience retail store space with a 14.5% share of the market in 2023,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData. “By comparison, Alimentation Couche-Tard’s banners had a 4.6% market share. So, combining the two would produce an entity that controls almost a fifth of the market.”

The company has been trying to streamline operations and last year sold the department store chain Sogo &