Seven & i Buyout Would Be a Watershed Moment for Japan Takeovers

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.’s proposed acquisition of Seven & i Holdings Co., if successful, wouldn’t just be the largest takeover of a Japanese company. It would also be extremely rare.

The Canadian convenience store chain operator’s preliminary proposal to buy 7-Eleven owner Seven & i Holdings Co. could be worth more than ¥5.63 trillion ($38.4 billion), based on the Japanese company’s market value after news of the potential deal was disclosed.

Until now, an attempt to acquire such a well-known Japanese business at such scale would have been dismissed as audacious and unlikely, given the protectionist tendencies of the ...