Artisan urges Seven&i to update takeover bid by September 19 By Reuters

By Rocky Swift and Kevin Buckland

TOKYO (Reuters) – U.S. fund Artisan Partners (NYSE: ) Asset Management stepped up pressure on Japanese stakes Seven and i, asking the board to provide an update on a takeover bid for Canadian company Alimetation Couche-Tard ( ACT ) by on September 19. .

In a letter dated Friday to reporters, Artisan portfolio managers N. David Samra and Benjamin L. Herrick recommended that Seven & i, the operator of Japan’s 7-Eleven convenience store chain, give serious consideration to ACT’s offer and to solicit bids for the company’s Japanese subsidiaries “as soon 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 negotiates 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 growing corporate value, highlights pressure on the company from shareholders over the potential deal, which would likely be the largest overseas buyout of a Japanese firm .

ACT, which owns Circle-K convenience stores, said last week 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 he became a shareholder. He said he is an active shareholder, not an activist, who engages with corporate management and boards of directors.