Canada's Couche-Tard drops offer to buy Japanese 7-Eleven convenience stores

TOKYO (AP) — Canadian retail chain Alimentation Couche-Tard is dropping its proposal to acquire Seven & i Holdings Co., the Japanese operator of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, citing frustration in ongoing negotiations that showed “a lack of constructive engagement.”

The 7-Eleven parent company rejected an offer last year, but Couche-Tard, which runs the global Circle K chain, was still interested and tried to coax a deal with the Japanese chain known here as “conbini.”

In a letter dated July 16 and sent to the Seven & i board, Couche-Tard stressed it had made a good offer earlier this year in a proposal of 2,600 yen ($17.50) per ordinary share in cash, which it said represented a 47.6% premium to the stock price. The initial offer, made last year, was for 2,200 yen ($14.86) per share in cash.

In the letter, sent to media Thursday and signed by its two top executives, including founder Alain Bouchard, Couche-Tard expressed exasperation at the response it was getting from Seven & i despite repeated attempts at dialogue.

“We have been very patient and respectful throughout this process, beginning with our meeting on July 23, 2024,” the letter said.

“You have engaged in a calculated campaign of obfuscation and delay, to the great detriment of 7 & i and its shareholders. We believe this approach reinforces our concerns about your approach to governance. Based on this persistent lack of good faith engagement, we are withdrawing our proposal.”

Couche-Tard, which runs nearly 17,000 stores in more than 30 countries and territories, including the U.S., said the documents it got lacked key information, executives were no-shows at meetings, and the meetings it did have ended up being “readouts” of statements, not frank discussions.

Seven & i acknowledged the dropped offer Thursday and said it considered talks “in good faith and constructively.”

“We remain fully committed to our standalone value creation plan, which we have been pursing in parallel, and to unlocking the value of our businesses, including our North American convenience store business. Our plan is concrete and actionable,” it said in a statement.

Some analysts say Seven & i management has not fully leveraged the business’ global potential or delivered enough value to shareholders, and could use better marketing, although its bottom line is unlikely to be affected by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.

The 7-Eleven franchise, which spans more than 85,000 stores in Japan, the U.S. and Europe, has a new chief executive, Stephen Hayes Dacus, the first foreigner tapped to head 7-Eleven. Dacus, an American whose mother is Japanese, has promised a leaner business by focusing on the supply chain and tailoring shop offerings to various regions.

For the first quarter of this fiscal year, Seven & i reported a doubling in profits to 49 billion yen ($330 million), mainly due to previously announced sales of property and equipment at its Ito-Yokado Co. retail chain.

Quarterly sales held up, as a favorable exchange rate helped some overseas earnings, according to the Tokyo-based chain. The seemingly omnipresent 7-Eleven chain speckles the streets of Japan, offering everything from stationery items and rice balls to hot coffee and utility bill payments.

Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama

The logo of Canadian retail chain Alimentation Couche-Tard is seen at its headquarters in Laval, a suburb of Montreal, on Nov. 21, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)

The logo of Seven & i Holdings Co., the Japanese operator of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain is seen on May 27, 2025, in Tokyo. (Kyodo News via AP)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.

Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.

“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.

"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.

Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.

Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.

Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.

At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.

Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.

Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.

After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.

“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”

Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.

Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.

His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.

“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”

Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.

FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)