Global convenience store giant 7-Eleven is poised to be taken over by Canadian rival Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT) in a deal worth £29.7bn.
Owner of 7-Eleven, Tokyo-based Seven & i Holdings is currently considering an offer from ACT, which operates the Circle K chain, and has formed a special committee to “conduct a prompt, careful and comprehensive review of the proposal”.
Any deal is likely to attract the attention of North American competition watchdogs, given that 7-Eleven has more than 13,000 stores in the US and Canada, and ACT has more than 9,000.
Currently, 7-Eleven operates around 85,000 outlets worldwide in 20 countries and territories. The company established a toehold in the UK in the 1980s, with more than 50 stores, but these were sold off in 1997.
