7-Eleven buyout likely to be a watershed moment

Big buy: A shopper leaving a 7-Eleven convenience store in Kawasaki, Japan. Circle K operator Couche-Tard is makjing a proposal to take over 7-Eleven in a US$38bil deal. — Bloomberg

TOKYO: Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc’s proposed acquisition of Seven & i Holdings Co, if successful, wouldn’t just be the largest takeover of a Japanese company, it would also be extremely rare.

The Canadian convenience store chain operator’s preliminary proposal to buy 7-Eleven owner Seven & i Holdings Co could be worth more than 5.63 trillion yen (US$38.4bil), based on the Japanese company’s market value after news of the potential deal was disclosed.