Canadian retail giant Alimentation Couche-Tard pulled a billions-of-dollars bid to acquire 7-Eleven owner Seven & I Holdings.
According to Forbes, the retailer on Thursday, July 17, announced that it has withdrawn its $47 billion bid to acquire Seven & i Holdings following insufficient cooperation from the Japanese retailer.
Couche-Tard, in a letter to the board of directors, wrote, “There has been no sincere or constructive engagement from 7&i that would facilitate the advancement of any proposal, contrary to comments made publicly by 7&i representatives.”
“The quantity and substance of the permitted due diligence, including at two tightly constrained management meetings, have been negligible. Rather, you have engaged in a calculated campaign of obfuscation and delay, to the great detriment of 7&i and its shareholders,” it added.
Meanwhile, the Japanese diversified retail holdings company on Thursday said that it was disappointed by the Canadian retailer’s decision and denied all the non-cooperative allegations.
It added that they were consistently engaged with Couche-Tard with “good faith” and a constructive approach for a record-breaking deal.
Couche-Tard's withdrawal has eliminated the possibility of a historic deal for the biggest-ever foreign takeover of a Japanese company that would create one of the world's largest retail chains.
It is worth noting that the decision came after Japanese Nippon Steel successfully acquired US Steel in a $14.9 billion deal.
