Co-founder and chair Alain Bouchard led executives on a goodwill visit to Japan as the Canadian convenience store chain insists it’s making a strong offer to buy 7-Eleven’s parent company. An attempt to meet people from Seven & i “didn’t work, but it will eventually,” Bouchard told Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

Talking point: Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard is typically tight-lipped, but its leaders tried to introduce themselves to stakeholders in Japan as Seven & i has attempted to fend off the takeover, including by splitting itself in two. Couche-Tard CEO Alex Miller told Bloomberg that Couche-Tard remains interested in Seven & i’s whole empire, which includes nearly 86,000 stores, including bigger grocery stores and other types of retail. The company, which is confident it can address regulatory concerns over competition, has hiked an initial offer for Seven & i by 22 per cent, to US$47.2 billion, partly financed by an unidentified Japanese bank.