TOKYO, Oct 16 (Reuters) - U.S. fund Artisan Partners

urged the board of Seven & i Holdings ( SVNDF ) to allow Canada's

Alimentation Couche-Tard ( ANCTF ) to conduct due diligence

and negotiate a purchase price after its $47 billion bid to take

over the Japanese retail company.

In a letter dated Oct. 15, Artisan portfolio managers David

Samra and Benjamin Herrick said a restructuring plan announced

last week by the 7-Eleven owner - in which it will bundle

non-core assets into a holding company - was "too little, too

late".

"The price currently being offered by ACT is clearly

superior to the speculative value that could potentially be

achieved by implementing the restructuring plan at this late

date," they said in the letter.

A spokesperson for Seven & i ( SVNDF ) declined to comment publicly

on the firm's dealings with individual shareholders or on the

status of discussions with Alimentation Couche-Tard ( ANCTF ).

The Canadian company announced a preliminary bid for Seven

& i ( SVNDF ) in August, and sources said last week it has since hiked its

offer by 22% to around $47 billion. If the deal goes ahead, it

would be the largest-ever overseas buyout of a Japanese firm.

Artisan has been among some of Seven & i's ( SVNDF ) vocal foreign

investors who have urged the company to focus on its core

convenience store business.

The letter also says Seven & i ( SVNDF ) should make public the names

of the members of the special committee that was set up to

scrutinise the bid.

Only the chairman of the committee has been disclosed, which

"invites suspicion that management-friendly members have been

hand-picked to serve on the committee," it said.

Artisan had previously sent a letter to Seven & i ( SVNDF ) in August

calling on the firm to consider ACT's initial, lower offer as

well as solicit offers for the company's Japanese subsidiaries.

Artisan holds 1.11% of Seven & i's ( SVNDF ) outstanding shares, LSEG

data showed.