Chris Hughes, Columnist

How 7-Eleven Can Get a Big Price From Circle K

Seven & i must do more than talk to push suitor Couche-Tard to offer a full price. Now is the time to get on with things it should have done long ago.

September 18, 2024 at 4:00 AM UTC

By Chris Hughes

Chris Hughes is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering deals. Previously, he worked for Reuters Breakingviews, the Financial Times and the Independent newspaper.

Customers inside a 7-Eleven convenience store in Kobe, Japan.
Photographer: Soichiro Koriyama/Bloomberg

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Everyone agrees the takeover battle for the Japanese owner of 7-Eleven is a watershed moment that could prove the Tokyo market is now open to foreign acquirers. But for that to happen, the fate of Seven & i Holdings Co. should be determined by the price of any bid, not the politics. And the convenience store operator needs to mount a defense that pushes Canadian suitor Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. to pay up.

If it really wants to, it can.