On Thursday, shares of Seven & i Holdings Co, parent of Japan’s popular 7-Eleven convenience store chain, were suspended from trading. This move came on the heels of Alimentation Couche-Tard’s choice to pull its $47 billion offer to buy the Japanese company. On July 16, 2025, the otherwise quiet international convenience store operator Couche-Tard dropped a blockbuster market-shattering announcement. Investors are tentatively waiting for further clarities on the future of Seven & I.
Seven & i Holdings Co. is a prominent player in the retail sector, operating an extensive network of 7-Eleven stores across Japan, including a key location in Kawasaki. The company has cornered 74% of the convenience store market. This muscular position has placed it in an attractive position for acquisition. The lack of engagement from Seven & i’s leadership reportedly led to Couche-Tard’s decision to withdraw its bid.
Immediately upon the announcement, Alimentation Couche-Tard released a statement to convey its disappointment. As the company repeatedly expressed, a merger would have created the greatest possible value for all stakeholders.
“As we have expressed many times, we do believe that fully combining our two companies is the most straightforward and effective way to maximize value to all stakeholders,” – Couche-Tard
They pointed to the absence of buy-in from Seven & i’s C-suite as one of the major reasons that stalled momentum.
“However, we are not able to effectively pursue this combination without deeper and genuine further engagement from 7&i leadership and the special committee.” – Couche-Tard
Couche-Tard went for the gold in their ambitious deal, but they had a fair number of problems. In its release, the company highlighted that Seven & i failed to offer their deepened cooperation still required. That absence of positive communication contributed in large part to their announced withdrawal from the acquisition bid.
The extended trading halt indicates a high degree of caution among investors in light of the uncertainty surrounding Seven & i’s strategic direction after this major development. For now, analysts are watching it all very, very closely. Still, a lot of questions remain as to how Seven & i will react to Couche-Tard pulling out, and how this will affect their future operations.