Couche-Tard bid for rival needs boost

Convenience store chain’s acquisition of Seven i Holdings will require equity, financing and cost-cutting, analyst says

- STEPHANIE HUGHES

Seven & i Holdings, the Japanese operator of 7-Eleven, has more than 85,000 locations across 18 countries, including the U.S., Japan and Canada.

Quebec-based convenience store operator Alimentation CoucheTard Inc.’s bid for its global rival Seven & i Holdings will take a great deal of financing gymnastics, including massive cost-cutting, a large store of equity and a potential U.S. listing to get the transaction past the finish line, analysts say.