Couche-Tard Sees ‘Clear Path’ to Seven & i Deal With US Stores Divestment

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. said that it sees several clear paths to complete a takeover of Seven & i Holdings Co., the strongest signal of confidence it’s sent so far on the controversial buyout that would be the biggest-ever foreign acquisition of a Japanese company.

Several potential buyers have made proposals to acquire the two companies’ overlapping convenience stores in the US, Couche-Tard said in an update on a website it set up on the bid. It believes this divestment of more than 2,000 stores in the US will appease regulatory concerns on the part of the US Federal Trade Commission.