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Having visited Taiwan and Tokyo this past year, i do appreciate how important 7-11 happens to be. north amer8ca is an after thought. We literally were never a block away. turns out it provides banking, transit tickets and just about anything else in your little neighborhood.
And a fine selection of meals freshly made to take home for supper.
so yes ,it is no surprise managed money wants to take a stake. who would ever have guess that this business could do so well.
Canadian fund CDPQ could help fundraising for Couche-Tard's 7-Eleven bid
CEO Emond says equity financing is 'doable' for convenience store giant
Charles Emond, CEO of pension fund CDPQ, sees Couche-Tard and Seven & i as having a "complementary" relationship. (Photo by Nanami Sato)
RYUSHIRO KODAIRA, Nikkei senior staff writer
Canadian fund CDPQ could help fundraising for Couche-Tard's 7-Eleven bid
CEO Emond says equity financing is 'doable' for convenience store giant
Charles Emond, CEO of pension fund CDPQ, sees Couche-Tard and Seven & i as having a "complementary" relationship. (Photo by Nanami Sato)
RYUSHIRO KODAIRA, Nikkei senior staff writer
September 25, 2024 15:50 JST
https://asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Picks/Interview/Canadian-fund-CDPQ-could-help-fundraising-for-Couche-Tard-s-7-Eleven-bid
TOKYO -- If Canadian convenience store giant Alimentation Couche-Tard raises capital for its bid to acquire Japanese peer Seven & i Holdings, major shareholder CDPQ "could participate," Charles Emond, the pension fund's CEO, told Nikkei on Tuesday.
CDPQ, formally known as Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, owns 3.5% of Couche-Tard.
Emond declined to comment on any discussions with Couche-Tard but said "we talk to them on a regular basis."
Couche-Tard offered $14.86 per share for the 7-Eleven store chain owner, amounting to $38.5 billion. Seven & i's board rejected the proposal, saying it undervalued the company. Couche-Tard is reportedly considering raising its bid.
"They've shown quite a willingness to engage with the 7&i board," Emond said.
A deal for Japan's top convenience store operator would go down as a landmark foreign acquisition in Japan. Investors have been watching to see whether CDPQ, a longtime partner of Couche-Tard, is ready to help provide funding.
"Equity financing is doable" for Couche-Tard both in the private and public markets, said Emond, who does not anticipate the company taking on excessive amounts of debt for the deal. If Couche-Tard does sell stock for the deal, CDPQ could participate as an investor, he said.
Couche-Tard has grown through repeated mergers and acquisitions, with around 100 deals under its belt.
Emond said the Canadian company has a "decentralizing" management style, and he expects it would respect Seven & i's Japanese approach to running convenience stores if a deal does go through. He sees the two companies having a "complementary" relationship, with Couche-Tard providing skills in cost management and other areas.
The proposed acquisition must clear antitrust hurdles, as well as Japanese legislation requiring purchases by foreign buyers in certain core industries to be pre-screened.
Regulatory barriers are "always happening all the time in every transaction," Emond said. "But Couche-Tard has done it successfully in the past."
CDPQ manages 450 billion Canadian dollars ($335 billion) in assets. Japan accounts for only CA$8 billion of this total now, but Emond said "we plan on growing it."
Publicly traded shares make up roughly 75% of the Quebec pension fund's Japanese assets.
"We've seen a lot of changes in Japan. Investors are getting quite interested," Emond said. "It's coming back on the radar screen. There's corporate reforms."
Given the expectations surrounding corporate governance, how Seven & i's board deals with Couche-Tard could affect how foreign investors, including CDPQ, view the Japanese market.
The pension fund also seeks to increase its holdings in infrastructure, which makes up roughly 25% of the Japanese portion of its portfolio. Emond cited the power grid and renewable energy as promising areas for investment.
On the U.S. economy, Emond sees a soft landing as the "base-case scenario." But this "doesn't mean that we haven't witnessed a bit of softness" in some indicators, he said, citing the labor market and the ISM manufacturing purchasing managers' index.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Picks/Interview/Canadian-fund-CDPQ-could-help-fundraising-for-Couche-Tard-s-7-Eleven-bid
TOKYO -- If Canadian convenience store giant Alimentation Couche-Tard raises capital for its bid to acquire Japanese peer Seven & i Holdings, major shareholder CDPQ "could participate," Charles Emond, the pension fund's CEO, told Nikkei on Tuesday.
CDPQ, formally known as Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, owns 3.5% of Couche-Tard.
Emond declined to comment on any discussions with Couche-Tard but said "we talk to them on a regular basis."
Couche-Tard offered $14.86 per share for the 7-Eleven store chain owner, amounting to $38.5 billion. Seven & i's board rejected the proposal, saying it undervalued the company. Couche-Tard is reportedly considering raising its bid.
"They've shown quite a willingness to engage with the 7&i board," Emond said.
A deal for Japan's top convenience store operator would go down as a landmark foreign acquisition in Japan. Investors have been watching to see whether CDPQ, a longtime partner of Couche-Tard, is ready to help provide funding.
"Equity financing is doable" for Couche-Tard both in the private and public markets, said Emond, who does not anticipate the company taking on excessive amounts of debt for the deal. If Couche-Tard does sell stock for the deal, CDPQ could participate as an investor, he said.
Couche-Tard has grown through repeated mergers and acquisitions, with around 100 deals under its belt.
Emond said the Canadian company has a "decentralizing" management style, and he expects it would respect Seven & i's Japanese approach to running convenience stores if a deal does go through. He sees the two companies having a "complementary" relationship, with Couche-Tard providing skills in cost management and other areas.
The proposed acquisition must clear antitrust hurdles, as well as Japanese legislation requiring purchases by foreign buyers in certain core industries to be pre-screened.
Regulatory barriers are "always happening all the time in every transaction," Emond said. "But Couche-Tard has done it successfully in the past."
CDPQ manages 450 billion Canadian dollars ($335 billion) in assets. Japan accounts for only CA$8 billion of this total now, but Emond said "we plan on growing it."
Publicly traded shares make up roughly 75% of the Quebec pension fund's Japanese assets.
"We've seen a lot of changes in Japan. Investors are getting quite interested," Emond said. "It's coming back on the radar screen. There's corporate reforms."
Given the expectations surrounding corporate governance, how Seven & i's board deals with Couche-Tard could affect how foreign investors, including CDPQ, view the Japanese market.
The pension fund also seeks to increase its holdings in infrastructure, which makes up roughly 25% of the Japanese portion of its portfolio. Emond cited the power grid and renewable energy as promising areas for investment.
On the U.S. economy, Emond sees a soft landing as the "base-case scenario." But this "doesn't mean that we haven't witnessed a bit of softness" in some indicators, he said, citing the labor market and the ISM manufacturing purchasing managers' index.
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