原文标题：
Konbini combination
What a takeover offer for 7-Eleven says about business in Japan
Its merger with a Canadian firm would create a convenience-store goliath
便利店合并
7-Eleven的收购要约对日本业务有何影响
它与一家加拿大公司的合并将创造一个便利店巨头
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THE CONVENIENCE store, or konbini, is an institution of modern Japanese life.
在日本，便利店（konbini）已经成为现代生活的重要组成部分。
Open at all hours, it offers customers tasty food and household essentials, as well as the ability to pay bills and send parcels.
便利店全天候营业，为顾客提供美食和日常必需品，甚至还能帮助顾客处理款项和邮寄包裹。
The industry leader, 7-Eleven, perfected new products, such as takeaway onigiri, or rice balls, and eventually took over the American chain from which it sprang.
行业领头羊7-Eleven更是不断创新，推出了外卖饭团等新产品，并最终收购了它所起源的美国连锁店。
But if Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT), a Canadian retailer that operates the Circle Kchain of shops, has its way, 7-Eleven will no longer be Japanese.
但如果经营Circle K连锁店的加拿大零售商 Alimentation Couche-Tard（ACT）能如愿以偿，7-Eleven将不再属于日本。
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On August 19th Seven & i, 7-Eleven’s parent company, announced it had received a takeover offer from the Canadian firm.
8月19日，7-Eleven的母公司柒和伊宣布，已收到加拿大公司的收购要约。
If accepted, the deal would be the largest-ever foreign acquisition of a Japanese company.
如果接受收购，这将是日本公司有史以来最大的外资收购案。
It would create a global convenience-store goliath, bringing together ACT’s network of 17,000 outlets with Seven & i’s 86,000.
这桩交易将催生出一个全球性的便利店巨头，将ACT的1.7万家门店与柒和伊的8.6万家门店整合在一起。
The proposal also says much about how corporate governance in Japan is evolving.
这一提议也揭示了日本公司治理结构正在发生重大变革。
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ACT’s offer comes after years of pressure on Seven & i.
ACT的收购提议是在柒和伊多年面临压力的背景下提出的。
Throughout the past decade two American activist investors, Third Point and ValueAct Capital, have taken large stakes in the company and pushed it to focus on its core konbini business.
过去10年间，两家美国激进投资机构Third Point 和 ValueAct Capital 持有柒和伊公司的大量股份，并推动其专注于核心便利店业务。
Last year it sold off its department-store business, Sogo & Seibu, and downsized Ito-Yokado, another retail brand.
去年，柒和伊出售了旗下的西武·崇光百货，并缩减了另一零售品牌伊藤洋华堂的规模。
It has also spent billions expanding its convenience-store empire abroad, recognising the limits to growth in ageing Japan.
同时，柒和伊也投入数十亿美元扩大其便利店业务在全球的版图，因为意识到日本老龄化对增长的限制。
In 2020 it beat out ACT to acquire Speedway, an American petrol-station network.
2020年，它击败了ACT，收购了美国连锁加油便利店驶必威公司。
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Markets remained dissatisfied. Before the takeover announcement Seven & i’s shares were down 6% since the start of the year, compared with a 14% rise for the broader Nikkei index.
市场仍不满意。在收购消息发布之前，柒和伊的股价自年初以来已经下跌了6%，相比之下，同期日经指数的涨幅达到了14%。
A weaker yen has pushed its valuation down further still in dollar terms.
日元贬值进一步加剧了其以美元计价的估值下滑。
Though ACT’s sales are less than Seven & i’s and its footprint is smaller, the Canadian firm is far more profitable, with a return on capital of 10%, compared with just 4% for Seven & i. Its market value, at $56bn, far exceeds the Japanese company’s (see chart).
尽管ACT的销售额低于柒和伊，且业务规模也较小，但加拿大ACT公司的盈利能力却远超过柒和伊，资本回报率为10%，ACT的市值达到560亿美元，远超日本柒和伊公司（见图表）。
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That divergence presented an opportunity for ACT, which has long sought growth through dealmaking.
这种差异为ACT带来了契机，因为ACT长期以来一直在通过交易寻求增长。
More than 70% of its network of stores comes from acquisitions, according to Goldman Sachs, a bank.
据高盛银行称，ACT70%以上的门店网络来自收购。
ACT has set an ambitious target to nearly double its gross operating profit to $10bn by 2028. Swallowing 7-Eleven would go a long way towards that.
ACT设定了一个宏大的目标，即到2028年将总营业利润翻番至100亿美元。而收购7-Eleven将为实现这一目标迈出重要一步。
Investors in the target firm took the news well: even though the terms of the proposal were not disclosed, shares of Seven & i jumped by 23% on the day of the announcement.
目标公司的投资者对这一消息反应积极：尽管没有透露收购提案的具体条款，但柒和伊的股价在公告当天就飙升了23%。
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The deal faces plenty of obstacles. Seven & i’s directors may yet reject the offer. Even if they accept, regulators may step in.
这笔交易面临诸多障碍。柒和伊的董事们可能仍会拒绝这一提议。即使他们接受，监管机构也可能会介入。
In America 7-Eleven and ACT are already the top two convenience-store operators, with a combined network of around 20,000 outlets. The next-largest, Casey’s, has fewer than 3,000.
在美国，7-Eleven和ACT已经是最大的两家便利店运营商，门店总数接近2万家，而排名第三的Casey’s门店数量还不到3000家。
ACT’s attempt in 2021 to acquire Carrefour, a French supermarket giant, was scuppered by the government there, which cited food-security concerns.
ACT曾在2021年试图收购法国超市巨头家乐福，但由于法国政府担心食品安全问题而未能成功。
In Japan konbini serve stricken communities during natural disasters; officials will want to ensure that role continues.
在日本，便利店在自然灾害期间为受灾社区提供服务；官员们希望确保这一作用能够延续。
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Nonetheless, the bid marks a watershed even if it falls through.
尽管如此，即使收购失败，这个提议也标志着一个重要的转折点。
Ever since Abe Shinzo, a former prime minister, began reforms in 2013, Japan has made steady, if patchy, progress towards becoming more shareholder-friendly.
自前首相安倍晋三在2013年启动改革以来，日本在注重亲股东利益方面取得了稳步的进展，尽管进展并不均衡。
Independent directors have filled board seats and executives have focused more on profitability.
独立董事占据了董事会席位，而高管们则更加关注盈利能力。
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Japan’s government has also sought to change traditionally hostile attitudes towards mergers and acquisitions.
日本政府也一直在努力改变对并购的传统敌对态度。
New guidelines on takeovers published last year urge firms to evaluate bids based on whether they “secure or enhance corporate value and the shareholders’ common interests”.
去年发布的并购新指南，鼓励企业根据是否“确保或提升公司价值和股东共同利益”来评估并购提案。
Seven & i’s initial reaction suggests that the measures are working: the board has formed a special committee made up of outside directors to “conduct a prompt, careful and comprehensive review”.
柒和伊的初步反应表明，这些措施正在奏效：公司董事会已经成立了一个由外部董事组成的特别委员会，来“迅速、细致和全面地”审查此次并购提案。
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Alain Bouchard, the founder and chairman of ACT, has long coveted its Japanese rival.
ACT的创始人兼董事长阿兰·布沙尔长期以来一直对日本竞争对手虎视眈眈。
In 2005 he flew to Tokyo to try to convince Ito Masatoshi, who brought 7-Eleven to Japan, to part with the American portion of the business, only to be rebuffed. “The Japanese aren’t sellers,” he later reflected.
2005年，他亲自飞往东京，试图说服将7-11引入日本的伊藤雅俊放弃在美国的便利店业务，但遭到了拒绝。“日本人不是卖家，”他后来反思道。
The fact that his latest offer is receiving serious consideration is a sign of how much has changed.
他的最新提议正在被认真考虑，这标志着情况已经发生了巨大的变化。
（恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇694左右）
原文出自：2024年8月24日《TE》Business版块
精读笔记来源于：自由英语之路
本文翻译整理: Irene
本文编辑校对: Irene
仅供个人英语学习交流使用。
【重点句子】（3个）
ACT’s offer comes after years of pressure on Seven & i.
ACT的收购提议是在柒和伊多年面临压力的背景下提出的。
Open at all hours, it offers customers tasty food and household essentials, as well as the ability to pay bills and send parcels.
便利店全天候营业，为顾客提供美食和日常必需品，甚至还能帮助顾客处理付款事项和邮寄包裹。
The deal faces plenty of obstacles. Seven & i’s directors may yet reject the offer. Even if they accept, regulators may step in.
这笔交易面临诸多障碍。柒和伊 的董事们可能仍会拒绝这一提议。即使他们接受，监管机构也可能会介入。
自由英语之路
