The agreement is a victory for Couche-Tard, which had been seeking since last year to deepen its engagement with Seven & i over its unsolicited 7.39 trillion ($67 billion) proposal to buy the Japanese company. Earlier this year, the companies agreed to seek a potential buyer for overlapping retail outlets as a prerequisite for takeover talks, given that US antitrust concerns could potentially derail any transaction.
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc has advanced its pursuit of Seven & i Holdings Co with a non-disclosure agreement that gives the Canadian retailer access to the 7-Eleven operator's financial information as it seeks a takeover to create the world's largest convenience-store company.
The two also agreed to a standstill provision, Seven & i said in a statement Thursday, adding that the terms are confidential. Such provisions are commonly used to prevent a potential buyer from making a hostile bid while also giving companies a fair chance to negotiate.
