Seven & i, which operates some 85,000 convenience stores worldwide, last year rejected an ACT offer worth nearly US$40 billion that would have been the biggest foreign buyout of a Japanese firm.

Even as ACT reportedly sweetened its bid, Seven & i said in November it was studying a counter-offer from its founding Ito family said to be worth around ¥8 trillion (US$54 billion).

However, Seven & i said yesterday that it had been “notified that it had become difficult to procure the necessary funds for an official proposal about the acquisition”.

The announcement sent Seven & i shares down as much as 12% yesterday. They rose almost 1% today.

“Couche-Tard remains committed to reaching a mutually agreeable transaction that benefits both companies’ customers, employees, franchisees and shareholders, creating a global retail champion,” an ACT spokesman said.

“We look forward to working constructively with Seven & i to reach a friendly agreement”.

ACT stressed that it would “maintain Seven & i’s role as an important part of Japan’s emergency response infrastructure”, a key concern for the Japanese government.

The firm added that it intended to “successfully address” regulatory concerns about the takeover, which would create a global convenience store behemoth.