7-Eleven, Couche-Tard advance acquisition talks with divestment exploration [Video]

The parent company of 7-Eleven appears to be warming to a possible sale to Quebec-based convenience store owner Alimentation Couche-Tard.

In a letter to shareholders, a special committee convened by Seven & i Holdings Co. Ltd. confirmed Couche-Tard’s last week news that both sides are working together to map out potential buyers for convenience stores that could be sold to satisfy U.S. antitrust regulators.

The divestment exploration was one of three options the committee put forward to advance talks. Another option asked the Canadian firm to sell all its U.S. Circle K locations and a third suggested Seven & i would agree to a merger only if Couche-Tard signs a divestiture deal with a potential buyer.

Seven & i says any sale to Couche-Tard would face “significant” antitrust hurdles because the companies have at least 2,000 overlapping stores that would likely have to be divested to a viable, credible and independent buyer to satisfy regulators’ competition concerns.