Canadian Retailer Couche-Tard Abandons Its $47 Billion Bid to Buy 7-Eleven

After a year of prolonged negotiations marked by dramatic twists and turns, the Canadian retailer Alimentation Couche-Tard said it was abandoning its multibillion-dollar bid to acquire the owner of 7-Eleven convenience stores.

When Couche-Tard, which operates Circle K convenience stores, approached Seven & i Holdings, the Japanese owner of 7-Eleven, last summer about a potential acquisition, it set off a whirlwind of activity around the struggling retail giant.

Over the past year, Seven & i has fielded not only the $47 billion offer from Couche-Tard but a takeover attempt from the son of its founder. It has also seen the arrival of a new management team, led by a Japanese American retail executive who pledged to spearhead growth independently.

In a letter to Seven & i’s board on Thursday, Japan time, Couche-Tard said it was withdrawing its proposal because of a lack of “sincere or constructive engagement” that would allow the deal to progress. It accused Seven & i of a “calculated campaign of obfuscation and delay.”

Seven & i said in a statement that it would accept Couche-Tard’s decision, though it found the announcement “regrettable.” It also defended its actions, saying the Couche-Tard letter contained “numerous inaccurate statements” and that its special committee had engaged in “sincere and constructive discussions.”

The battle for control of 7-Eleven has been widely watched as a barometer of the sweeping changes underway in corporate Japan. It’s seen as a test of how far Japanese companies, long burdened by low valuations, are willing to go to boost shareholder value.