(March 4): Seven & i Holdings Co shares were stuck in choppy trading after the company denied a media report that it was rebuffing a US$47 billion (RM210 billion) takeover offer from Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.

The company, which owns the 7-Eleven convenience stores, said it is still having constructive discussions with Couche-Tard. 

That was contrary to a report in the Yomiuri newspaper earlier Tuesday that said Seven & i plans to reject the takeover proposal over antitrust concerns in the US. The news dragged the company’s stock lower by as much as 11.7% and was still trading down by 7.8% after the denial as investors remained watchful of Seven & i’s stance.

The valuation of the company has plunged in the past weeks to around ¥5.2 trillion (RM149.64 billion) and is close to erasing gains it notched since the takeover proposal by Couche-Tard became public in August.

The Seven & i takeover saga is being closely watched as a test case of Japan’s openness to foreign capital, after recent governance reforms banned corporations from ignoring overtures that may raise value for shareholders.

Shares also plunged last week, when a proposal to take the company private by its founding family and Itochu Corp — designed to fend off Couche-Tard — collapsed.

Yomiuri had reported earlier that the Japanese retailer will instead seek to boost valuation on its own after a management buyout by the founding Ito family was scrapped. Separately, the Nikkei newspaper reported Monday that Seven & i will appoint board member Stephen Dacus as CEO to replace Ryuichi Isaka in changes seen as a renewed effort to prevent a takeover.

Dacus, who worked for decades in the Japanese retail industry, leads the special committee evaluating the proposed buyout by Couche-Tard.

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