—— 7-Eleven Receives Takeover Offer from Canadian Rival; Estée Lauder Gives Disappointing 2025 Forecasts; UK Tech Entrepreneur Missing after Yacht Sank in Italy; Carl Icahn Pays $2mn to Settle SEC Probe; GM to Cut Over 1,000 Software Engineers; Talk Show Pioneer Dies at 88; Labor Day Travel Bookings to Increase 9%
1. 7-Eleven Receives Takeover Offer from Canadian Rival
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., the operator of Circle K, has made a proposal to acquire Seven & i Holdings Co., the much larger parent company of 7-Eleven, in what would be the largest foreign takeover of a Japanese company. If successful, the merger would create the world’s largest convenience store operator, managing approximately 100,000 stores globally.
Before news of the offer broke, Seven & i was valued at around $31 billion. Following the announcement, its shares surged by 23% on Monday. Seven & i confirmed that the bid was preliminary and non-binding, but did not disclose specific terms. A special committee of independent outside directors will conduct a “prompt, careful, and comprehensive review of the proposal,” according to a statement released by the company on Monday.
Couche-Tard also confirmed that it made a “friendly, non-binding proposal,” but provided no additional details, noting that it is uncertain whether an agreement will be reached.
Although Couche-Tard operates fewer stores than Seven & i—around 14,000 compared to the Japanese retailer’s more than 85,000—the Canadian company has a higher market valuation of approximately $58.5 billion.
Foreign takeovers of Japanese companies are rare, but recent changes in merger and acquisition guidelines, along with pressure from activist investors for companies like Seven & i to enhance value, may increase the likelihood of a deal that would create a global convenience-store giant.
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2. Estée Lauder Gives Disappointing 2025 Forecasts
Estée Lauder Cos. has forecasted annual revenue growth that falls below analysts’ expectations, signaling that the cosmetics company’s anticipated recovery is facing new challenges.
In a statement released on Monday, Estée Lauder projected that its revenue for the current fiscal year will range between a 1% decrease and a 2% increase. This is significantly lower than the 5.6% increase to $16.5 billion that analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted. The company attributed the disappointing outlook to ongoing declines in prestige beauty sales in China, where consumer sentiment remains weak.
“While our sales and profit outlook for fiscal 2025 is disappointing, this year we will make important strides, as we implement our strategy reset,” said Chief Executive Officer Fabrizio Freda in the statement.
Following the announcement, Estée Lauder’s shares dropped 8.4% in premarket trading in New York.
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3. UK Tech Entrepreneur Missing after Yacht Sank in Italy
Mike Lynch, one of the UK’s most prominent tech entrepreneurs, is among those reported missing after a luxury yacht, the Bayesian, sank off the coast of Sicily, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, was rescued, but several others remain unaccounted for following the sinking of the 56-meter yacht in severe weather conditions near Palermo in the early hours of Monday morning.
The yacht, managed by Camper and Nicholsons, encountered harsh weather before it went down. There were 12 guests and 10 crew members aboard; 15 of them have been rescued by the Italian coast guard.
According to the local fire department, one body has been recovered, and six people are still missing.
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4. Carl Icahn Pays $2mn to Settle SEC Probe
Billionaire Carl Icahn and his investment firm, Icahn Enterprises LP (IEP), have agreed to pay $2 million to settle a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation that found Icahn had not properly disclosed the extent to which he was borrowing against his stake in the company.
Icahn is personally being fined $500,000, while IEP will pay $1.5 million. The SEC’s investigation revealed insufficient disclosure regarding how Icahn had pledged his IEP units as collateral for personal margin loans. This probe began after a report by short-seller Hindenburg Research led to a significant drop in IEP’s stock price.
The settlement disclosed that Icahn had pledged up to 65% of his IEP units from 2018 to 2022, securing up to $5.1 billion in personal margin loans from various lenders.
In a statement, Icahn expressed relief at resolving the matter, stating, “We are glad to put this matter behind us and will continue to focus on operating the business for the benefit of unit holders.” He also emphasized that the settlement does not support allegations made by Hindenburg, which had accused IEP of inflating net asset value (NAV) or operating a “Ponzi-like” structure.
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5. GM to Cut Over 1,000 Software Engineers
General Motors Co. is laying off over 1,000 software engineers as part of a broader effort to streamline its software and services organization, according to a source familiar with the situation.
More than 600 of these layoffs will occur in Michigan. The decision follows the recent promotions of former Apple Inc. executives David Richardson and Baris Cetinok to senior vice president roles within GM’s software group.
In a statement on Monday, GM confirmed the cuts, stating, “As we build GM’s future, we must simplify for speed and excellence, make bold choices, and prioritize the investments that will have the greatest impact.” However, the company did not specify the exact number of employees affected or how much the reductions will decrease its overall software engineering workforce.
GM has been focusing on developing advanced in-car software that increasingly controls various vehicle systems, including battery management, driving characteristics, and in-vehicle content displays, particularly in its latest electric models.
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6. Talk Show Pioneer Dies at 88
Phil Donahue, the pioneering television host whose groundbreaking daytime talk show set the stage for successors like Oprah Winfrey, Montel Williams, and Ellen DeGeneres, has passed away at the age of 88.
NBC’s “Today” show reported, citing family members, that Donahue died on Sunday after a long illness.
Often referred to as “the king of daytime talk,” Donahue was the first to introduce audience participation as a central feature of a talk show, dedicating a full hour to a single guest. In his 1979 memoir, Donahue, My Own Story, he recalled the skepticism he faced about his unconventional format: “Just one guest per show? No band?”
This format distinguished The Phil Donahue Show from other interview programs of the 1960s, making it a trendsetter in daytime television, especially popular among female audiences. The show, later simply titled Donahue, debuted in Dayton, Ohio, in 1967. Donahue quickly gained attention by addressing controversial social issues, with his first guest being atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair. Over the years, he tackled topics like feminism, homosexuality, consumer protection, and civil rights, among many others.
The show was nationally syndicated in 1970 and continued for 26 years, earning 20 Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award in 1980. In May of this year, President Joe Biden awarded Donahue the Presidential Medal of Freedom, recognizing him as a pioneer of the daytime talk show genre.
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7. Labor Day Travel Bookings to Increase 9%
Bookings for domestic travel over the U.S. Labor Day weekend have increased by 9% compared to last year, according to data from motor club AAA.
Although the estimate only accounts for travel booked through AAA, it contributes to an optimistic outlook for summer fuel demand in the U.S. Earlier in the season, domestic travel was projected to hit record levels during the July 4 holiday week and reach a 20-year high for the Memorial Day weekend.
The growth in travel has remained strong throughout the year, aided by lower gasoline prices. AAA reports that retail gasoline prices for Labor Day weekend are expected to average $3.50 per gallon, down from $3.81 per gallon last year.
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本文内容来自《Financial Times》、《Bloomberg》，以及《The Real Deal》等多家财经新闻媒体。