A $39 billion Canadian takeover bid for the owner of 7-Eleven signals a change in Japanese corporate governance and has CEOs “nervous” that their companies could be next, the chief executive of beverage giant Suntory Holdings said on Wednesday.
Seven & I’s response to the rejection of Alimentation Couche-Tard’s bid also showed that companies are no longer rejecting foreign offers out of hand, but are instead focusing on value, Suntory CEO Takeshi Niinami said in an interview with Reuters NEXT Newsmaker.
Niinami, 65, is one of Japan’s most influential executives. He is chairman of the business lobby Keizai Doyukai and an economic adviser to current and former prime ministers.
