Sets up special committee to review proposal (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Tokyo, 19 Aug - Japanese diversified retail holdings Seven & i confirmed that it has received a confidential, non-binding, and preliminary proposal from Canadian convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT) to acquire all outstanding shares of the company.

The Japanese company said it has set up a special committee, comprised solely of independent outside directors, led by Stephen Hayes Dacus, as chairperson of the board of directors, to review the proposal.

"Consistent with its obligation to act in the best interest of its shareholders and other stakeholders of the Company, the Special Committee intends to conduct a prompt, careful and comprehensive review of the proposal, the Company's stand-alone plans and other alternatives for enhancing corporate value, after which a response will be made to ACT," it said.

"Neither the Board of Directors nor the Special Committee has made any determination at this time to either accept or reject the proposal from ACT, to enter into discussions with ACT or to pursue any alternative transaction." Earlier, financial daily Nikkei reported that the deal would require at least 5 trillion as Seven & i market capitalization as of Friday was 4.6 trillion yen.

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(RADIOCOR) 19-08-24 08:00:51 (0059) 5 NNNN