Alimentation Couche-Tard intends to acquire all of 7-Eleven’s Japanese parent’s assets, the Canadian company’s founder and chairman told Bloomberg.

Alain Bouchard’s comments came Thursday while he and other Couche-Tard were visiting Japan as part of the retailer’s effort to acquire Tokyo-based Seven & i Holdings. In addition to owning the 7-Eleven convenience-store chain, Seven & i holds numerous grocery stores and several other retail assets and gas stores.

Known for rarely granting interviews, Bouchard spoke with reporters for the first time gave his first comments since Seven & i began efforts to fend off Couche-Tard’s takeover attempt.

Seven & i flatly rejected Couche-Tard’s initial offer of US$39 billion, contending that it “grossly” undervalued the company. The Japanese firm also appears cool to Couche-Tard’s upsized offer of US$47.6 billion but has indicated that it is still talking to the Montreal-based company.

Seven & i has announced plans to clean up its balance sheet by divesting 444 under-performing 7-Eleven locations in North America and splitting in two. It remains to be seen whether Couche-Tard will attempt to acquire the 7-Eleven stores being put up for sale in the U.S. and Canada.

While buying Seven & i in its entirety, Couche-Tard will keep the Japanese company’s local operations and management team intact, Bouchard told Bloomberg.

“Simple answer: we don’t move people around,” Bouchard told the wire service. “We don’t change the model. We adapt. We take the best practices from the stores we acquire, or we combine, and we take our best practices together.

“We’ll keep the people that run this company here, and they will hopefully share our culture, and we will share their culture, and we will be just strong.”

Seven & i has publicly questioned how Couche-Tard will finance the acquisition. Felipe Da Silva, Couche-Tard’s CFO, shed some new light on that point by telling Bloomberg that the company has engaged one of Japan’s megabanks.”

“We are very confident that we’ll be able to fund this transaction, if it’s to happen, and to keep a high investment credit rating,” Da Silva told Bloomberg, echoing a claim that Couche-Tard has made in recent written statements.

Word of potential Japanese investment came after a Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) executive told Bloomberg that the pension fund manager is willing to provide financial backing to help the Canadian firm complete the acquisition.

“Couche-Tard knows that we will always accompany them in these endeavours if necessary,” Vincent Delisle, CDPQ’s head of liquid markets, told the news service.

CDPQ ranks among Couche-Tard’s largest shareholders with a 3.5% stake worth $2.4 billion, according to Bloomberg.

The 7-Eleven chain has about 85,800 convenience stores across the globe. Couche-Tard operates approximately 16,800 convenience stores, including Circle-K, in 31 countries.

CDPQ ranks among Couche-Tard’s largest shareholders with a 3.5% stake worth $2.4 billion, according to Bloomberg.

Couche-Tard’s hiked all-cash offer equates to US$18.19 per share and represents a 22% increase from the original US$14.86 per share price.

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