An investor in Seven & I Holdings has urged the company to engage with suitor Alimentation Couche-Tard and provide an update on the buyout bid by next month, citing the "poor track record” of the Japanese operator of 7-Eleven stores in creating value for shareholders.
U.S.-based asset manager Artisan Partners asked Seven & I to brief shareholders on the status of takeover negotiations by Sept. 19 in a letter sent to the board on Friday, warning the company will be "held accountable” if it doesn’t open negotiations. Artisan’s portfolio managers David Samra and Ben Herrick cited the "historic implications” of a bid that could represent the biggest takeover of a Japanese company by a foreign suitor.
Couche-Tard was "uniquely positioned” to enhance shareholder value and negotiating with the company would be "the best tactic to preserve positive stakeholder outcomes in Japan,” Samra and Herrick said in the letter.
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