
Canada's Couche-Tard resumes share buyback after scrapping Seven & I acquisition bid (July 21)
Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard on Monday said it was resuming its share repurchase program days after the Circle K-parent scrapped its $46-billion attempt to buy Japan's Seven & I.
The company said it would repurchase up to 77.1 million shares worth about $4.2 billion as it works to shore up shareholder value after the months-long effort to buy the Japan-based convenience store chain fell apart.
Couche-Tard, which has a market capitalization of about $53 billion, had said last week that it was scrapping its bid for Seven & I as the Japanese retailer refused to engage constructively on the deal. If it had been successful, it would have been Japan's largest-ever foreign buyout.
Couch-Tard's stock closed up 8.3 per cent on July 17 when it scrapped the deal for Seven & I. The stock is down about 5 per cent so far this year.
The authorized share buyback program will begin July 23, and continue through July 22, 2026, Couche-Tard said.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CNA
3 hours ago
- CNA
China slaps temporary duties on Canadian canola
BEIJING: China on Tuesday (Aug 12) announced preliminary anti-dumping duties on Canadian canola imports, a new escalation in the year-long trade dispute that began with Ottawa's imposition of tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports last August. The provisional rate will be set at 75.8 per cent, effective from Thursday, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement. Canola Council of Canada President Chris Davison said that the rate makes the Chinese market effectively closed for Canadian canola, to which Canada exported almost C$5 billion (US$3.64 billion) of the oilseed crop in 2024. Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) November canola futures fell as much as 6.5 per cent to a four-month low after the announcement. "This really came as a surprise and a shock," said trader Tony Tryhuk of RBC Dominion Securities. China, the world's largest importer of canola, also known as rapeseed, sources nearly all its supplies of the product from Canada. The steep duties would likely all but end imports if they are maintained. "This is huge. Who will pay a 75 per cent deposit to bring Canadian canola to China? It is like telling Canada that we don't need your canola, thank you very much," said one Singapore-based oilseed trader. China imposed tariffs on canola oil and meal in March. Canada is now in a trade conflict with the world's two largest economies, as its exports also face tariffs imposed by the United States. Canada's number one canola market is the US, followed by China. China's Ministry of Commerce said an anti-dumping probe launched in September 2024 had found that Canada's agricultural sector - particularly the canola industry - had benefited from substantial government subsidies and preferential policies. The Canadian government and canola industry have previously rejected allegations of dumping. The industry believes China's complaint is based on other ongoing trade and political disputes, Davison said. A final ruling could result in a different rate, or overturn Tuesday's decision. The decision marks a shift from the conciliatory tone struck in June when China Premier Li Qiang said there were no deep-seated conflicts of interest between the countries during a phone call with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. "This move ... will put additional pressure on Canada's government to sort through trade frictions with China," said Trivium China agriculture analyst Even Rogers Pay. Canada's trade, agriculture and prime minister's office did not immediately respond to request for comment. Canada has imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, steel and aluminium. Separately, China also launched an anti-dumping investigation into Canadian pea starch and imposed provisional duties on imports of halogenated butyl rubber, according to ministry statements. NO EASY REPLACEMENT Replacing millions of tons of Canadian canola is likely to be difficult at short notice, say analysts. China uses imported canola to make animal feed for its aquaculture sector, as well as for cooking oil. The move provides an opportunity for Australia, which looks set to regain access to the Chinese market with test cargoes this year after a years-long freeze in the trade, Pay said. Australia, the second-largest canola exporter, has been shut out of the Chinese market since 2020 due mainly to Chinese rules to stop the spread of fungal plant disease. However, even if Australian imports increase, "fully replacing Canadian canola will be very difficult unless import demand drops sharply", said Donatas Jankauskas, an analyst with commodity data firm CM Navigator. Davison said his industry believes China will need Canada's canola to meet the sort of demand it has experienced in recent years. "I think the expectation would be that they could not meet those needs with a quality of a product and the volume that we provide," Davison said. Canadian farmers are about to begin harvesting canola and will not be happy to see prices plunge, said Canadian Canola Growers Association President Rick White. As long as the prohibitive duty is there farmers face suppressed prices. "It's going to certainly have a damping effect on price for farmers and they're going to be stuck with that," White said. Commodity funds have a substantial long position in ICE canola futures, traders said, which should add fuel to the selloff fire. "This will help accelerate their exit of that long and could really extend the losses," said Tryhuk. Another trader said there was already downward pressure coming into canola prices as Canada's crop is widely believed to be bigger than many previously forecast due to good weather. Ventum Financial broker David Derwin said traders were unsure about how to take the Chinese move yet, since it is not a final rule.
Business Times
4 hours ago
- Business Times
Circle falls after company, holders offer 10 million shares
[NEW YORK] Shares of Circle Internet Group fell after the second-largest stablecoin issuer and a group of shareholders, including co-founder and chief executive officer Jeremy Allaire announced an offering to sell a combined 10 million shares. Circle is offering two million shares while the selling shareholders are selling eight million, according to a filing on Tuesday (Aug 12) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. At the closing price on Tuesday of US$163.21 each, the share sale would raise US$1.63 billion. The stock declined 6.1 per cent from the closing price to US$153.34 each as at 8.07 pm in post-market trading on Tuesday in New York. The offering is set to price on Thursday night, according to sources familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as the information is not public. A representative for Circle did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Circle went public in a June initial public offering (IPO) that raised US$1.2 billion, and has seen its stock price rise more than 426 per cent to Tuesday's close, after a stablecoin bill was signed into law. The share sale comes within six months of the IPO, a period in which certain early shareholders are typically barred from selling their shares. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Shareholders can be released from the so-called lock-up agreements when the stock is up substantially from the IPO price and there is clear demand for the shares. Circle's insiders had agreed not to sell before a few days after the release of the company's September quarter results, or 180 days after the IPO, whichever came first, according to its earlier filings. Three of Circle's institutional backers before the IPO are the biggest sellers in the offering. IDG Capital is offering 1.17 million shares in the offering, General Catalyst is selling 1.12 million shares, and Fidelity Investments is offering 746,707 shares, the filing shows. Allaire is selling 357,812 shares, and is expected to maintain 23.9 per cent voting power after the offering, the filing shows. The offering is being led by JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, the filing shows. BLOOMBERG


CNA
4 hours ago
- CNA
Asian shares rise, dollar defensive after mild inflation data
TOKYO :Stocks in Asia climbed and the U.S. dollar was subdued on Wednesday, as data showed both resilience in major economies and the need for central banks to remain accommodative. Wall Street scaled new heights on Tuesday, driven by increasing certainty the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month. Japan's Nikkei broke through the 43,000 level for the first time and cryptocurrency ether rose to an almost four-year high. The highly-anticipated U.S. inflation readings indicated President Donald Trump's tariff regime had yet to filter down to consumer prices. In Japan, a report showed manufacturers grew more confident about business conditions after a trade agreement with the United States. "It's clear that almost any good news leads investors to pile money into markets, particularly tech stocks, despite their lofty price tags," Paco Chow, dealing manager at Moomoo Australia and New Zealand, wrote in a note to clients. "They're riding on 95 per cent odds of a Fed rate cut in five weeks and feeling comfort that inflation is only creeping higher, not running amok," Chow said. The MSCI All Country World Index of shares climbed for a second day to reach 948.54, a new all-time high. Japan's Nikkei stock index rose 1.4 per cent, also setting a new peak for a second-straight session. U.S. Labor Department data showed the consumer price index rose 2.7 per cent in the 12 months through July, slightly below the 2.8 per cent rate that economists polled by Reuters had forecast. A Reuters Tankan poll that tracks the Bank of Japan's quarterly tankan business survey showed Japanese manufacturers' sentiment index improved for a second straight month. Another report showed Japan's wholesale inflation slowed in July, underscoring the central bank's view that upward price pressure from raw material costs will dissipate. On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit record highs after President Trump signed an executive order pausing triple-digit levies on Chinese imports for another 90 days. Traders are pricing in a 94 per cent chance of a Fed cut in September, up from nearly 86 per cent a day ago and about 57 per cent a month earlier, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Investors had been on tenterhooks about the inflation data because it followed a surprisingly weak jobs report on August 1 and had the potential to stoke concerns about stagflation. Trump has nominated White House adviser Stephen Miran to temporarily fill a vacant board seat at the U.S. central bank, stirring up speculation about presidential interference in monetary policy. And the White House said it was "the plan" that the Bureau of Labor Statistics would continue to publish its closely watched monthly employment report after Trump's pick to head the agency E.J. Antoni proposed suspending its release. Speculation the labour report would be halted has "done the USD no favours and would have only incentivised foreign investors to review their hedging ratios on U.S. investments," Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone, said in a note. The dollar was little changed at 147.84 yen. The euro edged up 0.1 per cent to $1.1684, after a 0.5 per cent jump in the previous session. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of major peers, slid for a second day. Ether touched $4,634.70, the highest since December 2021, in early trading before sliding 0.9 per cent. U.S. crude dipped 0.05 per cent to $63.14 a barrel. Spot gold was little changed at $3,348.1 per ounce. In early trade, pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures were up 0.2 per cent, German DAX futures rose 0.3 per cent and FTSE futures climbed 0.1 per cent. U.S. stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis, were little changed.