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Japan will look at the “economic security” aspects of any foreign acquisition of 7-Eleven, a government minister said as Canada’s Couche-Tard pursues a takeover of the world’s largest convenience chain.
Alimentation Couche-Tard, which owns the Circle K brand, wants to buy the store owner’s parent Seven & i but the Japanese firm last year rejected an initial offer worth nearly $40 billion from Couche-Tard.
That led the Canadian company to make a revised bid reportedly 20 percent higher.
“Economic security is a new area… but, for example, I think the acquisition of 7-Eleven is majorly related,” Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s minister for economic revitalisation, said Wednesday.
Akazawa highlighted the role Japan’s convenience stores can play in times of crisis, such as after major earthquakes and other disasters, particularly in remote…
