Japan's Seven & i Holdings said on Monday that talks have begun with Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT) over a store sale plan that would set the stage for ACT's $47 billion takeover bid. Last week,

Seven & i Holdings said in a letter to shareholders Monday that Couche-Tard recently agreed to jointly explore a potential sale of some stores prior to signing a takeover agreement.

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

Seven & i subsidiary 7-Eleven Inc. operates, franchises and/or licenses more than 13,000 stores in the United States and Canada. In addition to 7-Eleven stores, it operates and franchises Speedway, Stripes, Laredo Taco Co., and Raise the Roost Chicken and Biscuits locations.

In letter to shareholders, retailer cites ‘cautionary tale’ of terminated Albertsons-Kroger deal’s flawed divestiture strategy as

Canada’s convenience store and gas station operator Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. says it has held “exploratory discussions” with buyers for any US stores that would need to be divested to secure regulatory approval for a potential takeover of Japanese rival Seven & i Holdings Co.

The Japanese owner of 7-Eleven said Monday it had agreed to jointly explore store sell-offs with a Canadian rival to address antitrust concerns ahead of a potential merger.

Circle K owner says there is a clear path to obtaining regulatory approvals for transaction with 7-Eleven parent