08:09 AM EDT, 10/17/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.'s ( ANCTF ) founder and top executives are spending three days in Tokyo this week, seeking to make their case for buying Seven & i Holdings Co. for about 7.1 trillion yen ($47.4 billion) despite being rebuffed by the Japanese retailer, Bloomberg News is reporting.

The report noted Couche-Tard is known as a media-shy company that rarely grants interviews but Chairman Alain Bouchard, Chief Executive Officer Alex Miller, Chief Financial Officer Filipe Da Silva and adviser and former CEO Brian Hannasch sat down for an interview during their visit.

Their overtures, the report said, reflect the seriousness of the takeover attempt, the third time in two decades that Couche-Tard has sought to enter a deal with Seven & i, which is also the global operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores. Any deal would be the biggest-ever takeover of a Japanese company, and is being seen as a key test of whether corporate Japan is ready for big inbound mergers and acquisitions.

The executives, who built a small Canadian retailer into a $51 billion company that includes Circle K, addressed potential concerns by Seven & i employees, antitrust regulations in the US and discussed financing for a potential deal.

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