Couche-Tard Will Have to Raise Equity in Seven & I Bid: Analysts
- TD says Couche-Tard needs to bring in as much as $18 billion
- Raymond James sees a potential US listing for Couche-Tard
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Quebec-based convenience story operator Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.’s bid for its global rival Seven & i Holdings will take a great deal of financing gymnastics, including massive cost-cutting, a large store of equity and a potential US listing to get the transaction past the finish line, analysts say.
Couche-Tard would need to raise between $12 billion and $18 billion of equity to keep leverage down and cover the transaction price, which hasn’t yet been announced, TD Cowen analyst Michael Van Aelst wrote in a note to clients Monday. They will also need to navigate the synergies, which could add over $2 billion in Ebitda within three years of the deal’s closing, according to Cowen’s calculations.