Japanese owner of 7-Eleven receives takeover approach from Canadian rival

Good morning. In the present day we’re overlaying:

• Beijing’s newest restrictions on funding information

• The hurdles forward for Kamala Harris

• The western airways slashing flights to China

However we begin in Tokyo, the place the Japanese proprietor of 7-Eleven has acquired a takeover strategy from Canadian comfort retailer rival Alimentation Couche-Tard, which controls the Circle Okay model.

Couche-Tard’s strategy to Seven & i Holdings follows greater than a 12 months of on-off talks between the 2 retailers and is the largest foreign-led takeover try to focus on a Japanese firm.

Seven & i’s shares rose 22 per cent yesterday, pushing the market capitalisation of the corporate to $38bn.

In an announcement, Seven & i stated it had arrange a particular committee of non-executive board administrators to look at the proposal from Couche-Tard, which seeks to amass all its excellent shares.

The strategy is the primary to completely exploit latest adjustments in M&A pointers to make it more durable for Japanese firm managements to disregard unsolicited or undesirable affords.

Seven & i has for some months been working to fortify itself in opposition to what it noticed because the rising menace of a foreign-led acquisition, in response to a number of folks accustomed to the matter. David Keohane and Leo Lewis have more details.

Right here’s what else I’m maintaining tabs on at present:

• Financial information: Hong Kong publishes its shopper value index for July.

• Financial coverage: The Individuals’s Financial institution of China makes its mortgage prime price announcement and Australia’s central financial institution launch the minutes of its August coverage assembly.

• US presidential election: The primary day of the Democratic Nationwide Conference will likely be capped off with a speech from President Joe Biden (Monday night native time).

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5 extra high tales

1. Chinese language authorities have restricted a key supply of knowledge on inward funding as world funds proceed to tug cash in a foreign country’s inventory market, threatening to make 2024 the primary 12 months of fairness outflows. The transfer is not the first time Beijing has restricted access to data that could possibly be interpreted negatively.

• Markets information: Buyers who slashed their fairness publicity throughout a bout of market volatility in early August sharply increased their holdings as world shares rebounded final week, Deutsche Financial institution stream information reveals.

2. China and the Philippines traded accusations of ramming every others’ ships within the disputed South China Sea yesterday. Here’s what we know about the latest flare-up, which comes regardless of a détente between the edges final month.

3. Mike Lynch, one of many UK’s best-known tech entrepreneurs, is amongst these lacking after a luxurious yacht sank off the coast of Sicily in bad weather. Among the many passengers on Lynch’s 56-metre yacht had been members of his authorized crew and their households, who had been invited on the journey to have a good time the previous Autonomy chief govt’s latest authorized victory.

4. The US stated it had made progress in direction of a Gaza ceasefire-for-hostages deal yesterday, saying Benjamin Netanyahu had accepted a “bridging proposal” that aimed to resolve variations between Israel and Hamas.

5. The German authorities is beneath fireplace from politicians throughout the political spectrum after it emerged that finance minister Christian Lindner has written to colleagues to veto new navy assist for Ukraine. Here’s what the letter said.

The Large Learn

US Democrats meet at present for his or her get together’s conference after quickly rallying round a brand new presidential candidate. To this point, their wager on Kamala Harris appears to have labored. The vice-president has caught up with Donald Trump, eclipsing the Republican nominee in some polls and raking in contributions from donors. However the second section of her marketing campaign is about to start and the hurdles are far bigger.

Within the latest edition of our US Election Countdown publication, the FT’s reporters focus on what they’re looking for as they cowl tonight’s DNC on the bottom in Chicago. Join the publication here.

We’re additionally studying . . . 

• India’s broadcasting invoice: The withdrawal of the laws final week doesn’t mark the tip of the federal government’s ambition to censor online content, writes Nik Sunil Williams.

• Asia’s ageing inhabitants: Higher funding in healthcare can contribute to a “silver dividend”, writes Albert Park, chief economist of the Asian Improvement Financial institution.

• Advert big: The world’s greatest retailer Walmart has constructed a massive advertising business, placing it in competitors with conventional media firms for advertising {dollars}.

Chart of the day

Western airways are slashing flights to China as a mixture of low demand and the excessive value of flying round Russian airspace saps their ability to compete with native carriers.

Take a break from the information

The longlist for the FT and Schroders Enterprise Guide of the Yr is right here. We filtered and reviewed greater than 600 entries to carry you this checklist of 16 vying to be judged the “most compelling and pleasant” enterprise guide of 2024. From Donald Trump’s funds and Invoice Gates’s affect to the challenges of AI, here are the titles still in the running.

Extra contributions from David Hindley and Tee Zhuo