Artisan urges Seven&i for takeover bid update by Sept 19

Artisan Partners Asset Management

31/08/2024 03:58

By Rocky Swift and Kevin Buckland
       TOKYO, Aug 31 (Reuters) - U.S. fund Artisan Partners
Asset Management  APAM.N  ramped up pressure on Japan's Seven
and i holdings  3382.T , calling on the board to provide an
update on a takeover bid from Canada's Alimetation Couche-Tard
(ACT)  ATD.TO  by Sept. 19.
    In a letter dated Friday and sent to journalists, Artisan
portfolio managers N. David Samra and Benjamin L. Herrick
recommended that Seven & i, operator of the 7-Eleven convenience
store chain in Japan, seriously consider ACT's offer, and to
solicit offers for the company's Japanese subsidiaries "as
quickly as possible."
    "ACT is uniquely positioned to enhance (Seven & i's)
corporate value," Samra and Herrick wrote.
    "Negotiating with ACT is the best tactic to preserve
positive stakeholder outcomes in Japan," they said. "It is
imperative that the board of directors negotiate with ACT
immediately to achieve the best possible outcome for
shareholders."
    Artisan's letter, which was highly critical of Seven & i's
track record of enhancing corporate value, highlights the
pressure on the company from shareholders over the potential
deal, which would likely be the biggest-ever overseas buyout of
a Japanese firm.
    ACT, which is the owner of Circle-K convenience stores, 
last week said it had approached Seven & i about a possible
acquisition, without disclosing a potential deal value.
    Artisan has been a critic of Seven & i's management and
structure since 2019, when the letter says it became a
shareholder. It said it is an active - not activist -
shareholder, which engages with corporate management and boards.

 (Reporting by Rocky Swift; Writing by Kevin Buckland; Editing
by Stephen Coates)
 ((Kevin.Buckland@thomsonreuters.com;))