UPDATE 2-Couche-Tard executives to visit Tokyo to speak on $47 billion Seven & i bid

Couche-Tard, which operates Circle-K convenience stores, said earlier it is in exploratory talks with third parties about a potential sale of U.S. stores to help it gain regulatory approval should it reach a deal to take over Seven & i. The Canadian company said it has identified a portfolio of U.S. stores and is in talks to "identify possible acquirers".

Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard said on Friday its top executives will visit Tokyo to speak with media about its $47 billion bid to buy 7-Eleven convenience store operator Seven & i Holdings.

Founder Alain Bouchard, CEO Alex Miller and CFO Filipe Da Silva will hold a media briefing from 0200 GMT on March 13. Couche-Tard, which operates Circle-K convenience stores, said earlier it is in exploratory talks with third parties about a potential sale of U.S. stores to help it gain regulatory approval should it reach a deal to take over Seven & i.

The Canadian company said it has identified a portfolio of U.S. stores and is in talks to "identify possible acquirers". "We believe there is a clear path to obtaining regulatory approvals of a transaction with 7&i and have made a robust proposal to 7&i about our commitment to doing so," a Couche-Tard spokesperson said.

Seven & i has opposed the takeover bid and said U.S. antitrust law would be a barrier to any deal. The companies are the top two players in the U.S. convenience store market, with about 20,000 locations between them.

Seven & i on Thursday appointed its first foreign CEO, Stephen Dacus, handing him the task of overhauling its business to fend off the bid. Dacus said he spoke with Couche-Tard on Thursday and that talks would continue though significant regulatory hurdles stood in the way of any merger, particularly in the United States.

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