(Reuters) – Artisan Companions, a U.S.-based investor in Seven & i Holdings, on Sunday opposed the Japanese retailer’s CEO succession plan and urged the corporate to rethink a takeover provide, in accordance with a letter to the board.
Final week, the 7-Eleven comfort retailer operator named Stephen Dacus as CEO to steer its restoration and reply to a $47 billion takeover provide from Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard.
Within the letter, Artisan Companions opposed Dacus’s choice and urged Seven & i to interact with Couche-Tard about its buyout proposal to maximise shareholder worth.
Couche-Tard didn’t instantly reply to a Reuters request for remark, whereas Seven & i wasn’t instantly obtainable for remark exterior enterprise hours.
The particular committee and Dacus rejected Couche-Tard’s provide of $18.19 per share, which on the time was a premium of just about one-third from the present share value. Nevertheless, the corporate’s shares closed at $14.18 on Friday in Tokyo, about 22% beneath Couche-Tard’s newest provide.
The activist investor stated it’s going to vote towards Dacus on the firm’s upcoming annual basic assembly, in addition to towards different members of the nomination committee.
Artisan Companions stated it might additionally vote towards Seven & I Vice President Junro Ito on the annual basic assembly, citing his lack of ability to safe financing for a $58 billion administration buyout final month.
The Ito household started talks to take the comfort retailer proprietor non-public in what would have been the biggest administration buyout in historical past if profitable after Seven & i acquired the Couche-Tard bid final yr.
Artisan is amongst Seven & i’s international buyers which have urged the corporate to deal with its core comfort retailer enterprise.
(Reporting by Harshita Meenaktshi in Bengaluru; Enhancing by Lisa Shumaker)