By Kosaku Narioka and Adriano Marchese

7-Eleven's owner has signed a confidentiality agreement with the Canadian owner of Circle K to consider a potential sale of some U.S. stores, moving to address antitrust risk of a possible takeover of the Japanese retail giant by Alimentation Couche-Tard.

The scope of the nondisclosure agreement is limited to the potential sale of some stores run by the companies in the U.S. and isn't meant to discuss a possible sale of the entire Seven & i Holdings group, a spokesman for the Japanese company said Wednesday.

Couche-Tard Chief Executive Alex Miller said on an earnings call Wednesday that the nondisclosure agreements were signed by potential buyers in the divestment process.

"We have not signed a nondisclosure agreement," Miller said. "We are working with Seven & I on a marketing package on what a divestment package would look like."

The 7-Eleven owner said last week that financial advisers to the company and the Circle K owner are searching for potential buyers for some stores to mitigate U.S. antitrust risk before signing a takeover agreement. The Japanese company said it would continue its discussion with Couche-Tard while advancing its own business initiatives.

Seven & i said antitrust issues involved in a potential takeover deal would be significant, while Couche-Tard has said the company believes there is a clear path to obtaining regulatory approvals.

Couche-Tard executives said Thursday that the company would continue its friendly pursuit of Seven & i, even as they vented their frustrations over the slow progress in talks to acquire the Japanese owner of the 7-Eleven convenience-store chain.

Earlier this month, Seven & i said it would split its North American convenience stores into a separate listed company by the second half of next year. The 7-Eleven parent also named its first American chief executive, former Walmart executive Stephen Hayes Dacus.

The 7-Eleven owner in September rejected an initial $39 billion buyout bid from Couche-Tard, saying the proposal underestimated the company's value. Couche-Tard later raised its offer to about $47 billion and in January submitted a revised, yen-denominated proposal at Seven & i's request.

Couche-Tard on Tuesday posted higher profit and revenue for its quarter ended Feb. 2. Its same-store sales, which account for store openings and closings, edged lower in the U.S., were slightly higher in Europe and increased 2.8% in Canada.

Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 19, 2025 11:11 ET (15:11 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.