Couche-Tard’s Failed Bid for Seven & i Sparks Debate Over Japan

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.’s decision to walk away in frustration from an attempted acquisition of Seven & i Holdings Co. set off a debate in Tokyo as to what lessons foreign companies with ambitions for M&A should draw.

The bid was audacious from the start. 7-Eleven convenience stores have one of Japan’s most recognizable brands and a takeover would have been the largest by a foreign entity in the country’s history. Moreover, the founding Ito family members were so opposed to the deal that they turned to one of their archrivals to try and block it.