TOKYO (AP) — The parent company of the Japanese 7-Eleven convenience store chain said Friday that it’s turning down a takeover offer from Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. of Canada.
In a letter made public, Stephen Dacus, who heads a special committee of outsiders examining the proposed takeover, received last month, said the committee carefully reviewed the offer to acquire all outstanding shares of Seven & i Holdings Co. for $14.86 per share in cash.
That calculates to about $38.6 billion, or 5.5 trillion yen at the current exchange rate.
The Seven & i share price was gradually falling over several months earlier this year, until it surged over the news of the takeover. It traded at 2,133.5 yen ($14.92) on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Friday, down 1.4%.
“After a thorough review and discussion of your proposal, the Seven & i board has unanimously concluded, based on the unanimous recommendation of the special committee, that the proposal is not in the best interest of Seven & i shareholders and other stakeholders,” Dacus wrote.
The offer greatly undervalues the potential of the convenience store business, while not fully addressing U.S. regulatory concerns, he said.
Couche-Tard did not immediately respond. Last month, it confirmed it made a “friendly, non-binding proposal” to Seven & i, “focused on reaching a mutually agreeable transaction that benefits both companies’ customers, employees, franchisees and shareholders.”
It said at that time it wouldn’t make further statements on the discussions “unless or until” an agreement was reached.
What happens next is unclear. Couche-Tard may make another offer.
Some analysts say 7 & i management has not fully leveraged the business’ global potential or delivered enough value to shareholders.
The 7-Eleven franchise includes 86,000 stores in Japan, the U.S. and other Asian nations, while Alimentation Couche-Tard operates about 17,000 stores in 31 countries, including the U.S., Europe, Canada and Japan, including the Circle K stores.
A takeover of such a scale may have problems getting U.S. regulatory approval.
In April, Seven & i announced a restructuring plan to strengthen its U.S. operations and streamline operations, closing some Ito-Yokado supermarkets in Japan.
The omnipresent 7-Eleven convenience stores remain popular in Japan.
Busy “salarymen” and working women flock to the stores for rice balls, take-out meals and daily necessities, while some stores offer places for children to play or for families to dine like a small restaurant.
Last year, Seven & i sold Sogo & Seibu department stores in Japan to Fortress Investment Group, a U.S. fund, for $1.5 billion.
Earlier this year, Seven & i reported an annual profit of 224 billion yen ($1.6 billion), down 20% from the previous year, while annual sales slipped nearly 3%.
Yuri Kageyama is on X: https://x.com/yurikageyama
FILE - People shop at a 7-Eleven convenience store in New York, Tuesday, March 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sunday was to be a day of relative rest for Donald Trump, a rare breather this deep into a presidential campaign. Aside from sounding off on social media, golf was on the agenda.
Then the Secret Service spotted the muzzle of a rifle sticking out of a fence in bushes at Trump's West Palm Beach golf club, and everything changed.
For the second time in just over two months, someone apparently tried to shoot Trump and came dangerously close to the former president in that effort — within 500 yards Sunday, law enforcement officials said. This time, the gunfire came from the Secret Service, before the suspect could get any shots off at his target.
The episode raised sharp questions about how to keep the former president safe -- not only while he is campaigning across the country, but while he spends time at his own clubs and properties.
Trump has had stepped-up security since the assassination attempt on him in July, when he was wounded in the ear during an attack that laid bare a series of Secret Service failures. When he has been at Trump Tower in New York, parked dump trucks have formed a wall outside the building. And at outdoor rallies, he now speaks from behind bulletproof glass.
But unlike typical VIPs, who live in private residences with tall fences, Trump, while in Florida, resides at a club open to dues-paying members, and often spends his down time at his golf courses. And this a toxic era in the nation's politics.
“The threat level is high," Rafael Barros, special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Miami field office, told reporters Sunday. “We live in danger times."
Sunday in the political world opened with Trump assailing a pop star on social media who had endorsed Kamala Harris — “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT” — complaining about the post office and hitting the links. Running mate JD Vance riffed on TV about that thoroughly debunked conspiracy theory concerning immigrants and pets, refusing to disown it. Democrats were apoplectic.
All that was standard fare for the most tumultuous presidential campaign in anyone’s memory. But shortly before 2 p.m., the subject abruptly changed and this election was thrust ever deeper into unprecedented territory.
Trump and golf partner Steve Witkoff were on the fifth hole of the course and about to putt when they heard the “pop, pop, pop, pop," said Fox News host Sean Hannity, a close friend of the former president who spoke with him several times afterward as well as with Witkoff.
Moments later, Hannity said, a "fast cart” with steel reinforcement and other protection whisked Trump away.
After the Secret Service noticed the rifle and then the suspect, an agent fired on him but apparently missed.
Secret Service agents immediately used their bodies to shield Trump and moved him to the golf course’s clubhouse, where he remained until he went back to Mar-a-Lago about 15 minutes away, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who was not authorized to discuss it publicly and described it on condition of anonymity.
About an hour later, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the agency and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office were investigating an unspecified “protective incident involving former President Donald Trump," adding he was safe.
The meaning was highly unclear. It could have been an unrelated shooting or disturbance near Trump, for all the country knew at first. "There were about 20 or more cop cars flying from nearby streets,” said Max Egusquiza, of Palm Beach, describing the emergency response he witnessed.
The Trump campaign issued a statement saying “President Trump is safe following gunshots in his vicinity." Again, no word whether he was the intended target.
But it soon became known that the Secret Service had fired shots. And about an hour after that happened, Donald J. Trump Jr. posted on X that an AK-style rifle was discovered in the bushes, “per local law enforcement."
All of that was finally followed by an FBI statement saying it is investigating "what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump.”
The suspect quickly vanished but law enforcement had managed to identify his vehicle.
Martin County Sheriff William D. Snyder said his deputies “immediately flooded” northbound I-95, deploying to every exit between the Palm Beach County line to the south and St. Lucie County line to the north.
The suspect was apprehended within minutes of the FBI, Secret Service and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office putting out a “very urgent BOLO” — or be-on-the-lookout alert — detailing the specific vehicle sought, license plate number and description of the driver.
“One of my road patrol units saw the vehicle, matched the tag and we set up on the vehicle,” Snyder said, “We pinched in on the car, got it safely stopped and got the driver in custody."
Snyder added: "He never asked, ‘What is this about?’ Obviously, law enforcement with long rifles, blue lights — a lot going on. He never questioned it.”
With that, police arrested Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Kaaawa, Hawaii, three law enforcement officials told The Associated Press. The officials identified the suspect to AP but spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation.
The suspect had left behind an AK-style rifle with a scope, two backpacks hanging on a fence with ceramic tile inside and a GoPro camera, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said.
The sheriff said the suspect was 400 to 500 yards away from Trump hidden in shrubbery, while the former president played golf on a nearby hole.
“It was certainly an interesting day! ” Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday night. He effusively thanked law enforcement for keeping him “SAFE.”
Associated Press writers Jill Colvin, Colleen Long, Eric Tucker, Alanna Durkin Richer, Mike Balsamo and Michael R. Sisak contributed to this report.
Police crime scene vehicles are seen at Trump International Golf Club after police closed off the area following the apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)
Laura Loomer uses her cell phone near Trump International Golf Club after police closed off the area following the apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)
Trump was on the links taking a breather from the campaign. Then the Secret Service saw a rifle
Trump was on the links taking a breather from the campaign. Then the Secret Service saw a rifle
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives at Harry Reid International Airport to board a plane after a campaign trip, Saturday, Sept.14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
