Nikkei Asia: Seven & i deal collapse seen sending signals to activist investors

Couche-Tard’s letter notifying Seven & i’s board of directors of its decision to scrap the proposal “is as aggressive a calling out of a target management team as I’ve seen in decades,” said Mark Kelly, chief executive of MKP Advisors, a boutique advisory firm in the U.K. 

“They are clearly trying to appeal to activist investors” to take sizable positions in the Japanese company and force it to change its behavior, Kelly said. “The level of detail [Alimentation CoucheTard] gives the market about the way in which 7&i has behaved is really quite amazing.”

“We are on the wrong side of the annual general meeting season,” Kelly of MKP Advisors said. To make any meaningful progress, “we will need to wait for the second quarter of 2026.”

Published by and image courtesy of Nikkei Asia