Canadian company makes buyout offer to 7-Eleven's owners to acquire brand

Alimentation Couche-Tard, the Canadian company that operates Circle-K food stores, is seeking to acquire 7-Eleven. The Japanese company that owns the Texas-based brand has received a buyout offer, which would be the largest foreign acquisition of a registered Japanese company and the largest cross-border acquisition this year.

After receiving the offer Monday, Japan's Seven & i Holdings Co. appears to be willing, or at least ready to assess the possibility of selling its largest asset. In a statement the Japanese company announced the creation of a committee to evaluate the offer.

Canada's Couche-Tard also confirmed what it called a "friendly" proposal to acquire Seven & i, but said there "can be no certainty" that a deal will be reached. "The company is focused on reaching a mutually agreeable transaction," it added in a statement collected by CNN. It did not disclose financial details.

Seven & i shares closed Monday in Tokyo and went up nearly 23%, raising the company's market value above $38 billion. According to Business Insider, many shareholders have rallied around the Japanese company, believing it was undervalued.

Despite having 85,000 stores, as opposed to just 14,000 at Couche-Tard, the Canadian firm was valued at almost twice as much as the Japanese firm prior to the takeover bid.

The takeover bid comes after the Japanese government made it difficult for companies to ignore unsolicited bids. Changes to buyout guidelines are expected to boost foreign investment in the country.