Seven & i Investor Urges Due Diligence With Acquisition Bid
TOKYO — An investor that previously supported calls for Seven & i Holdings Co. Ltd. to spin off its convenience store chain 7-Eleven Inc. is now encouraging the company to let Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT) Inc. conduct due diligence and negotiate a purchase price following the Laval, Quebec-based retailer's recently upped bid.
In an Oct. 15 letter, Artisan Partners stated that Seven & i's intention to split into two companies, one focused on convenience and fuel retailing, and one consisting of a holding company consisting of 31 less profitable retail operations, comes "too little, too late," reported Reuters.
Artisan currently holds 1.11% of Seven & i's outstanding shares.
[Read more: 7-Eleven Parent Company to Shutter 400-Plus Stores in North America]
Anonymous sources familiar with the matter recently shared that Couche-Tard's revised offer is 22% higher than its previous proposal, reaching approximately $47 billion. The retailer's initial proposal was about $38.5 billion, or $14.86 per share.
"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," wrote David Samra and Benjamin Herrick, portfolio managers at Artisan.
The letter also stated that Seven & i should make public the names of members of the special committee created to evaluate Couche-Tard's offer. Because only Stephen Hayes Dacus, who also serves as chairman of Seven & i's board of directors, has been named, this "invites suspicion that management-friendly members have been hand-picked to serve on the committee," Samra and Herrick continued.
A spokesperson for Seven & i declined to comment on the letter from Artisan. The company previously stated it plans to keep negotiations confidential as requested by Couche-Tard.
7-Eleven Inc. is No. 1 on the 2024 Convenience Store News Top 100 report.