What can you do when you can’t go hostile in a deal? For Alimentation Couche-Tard , the answer is a press conference. On Thursday, the Canadian owner of the Circle-K convenience store chain made the case for its takeover of Japan’s Seven & i to local media in Tokyo - a first since launching a $47 billion offer in August.

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. could increase its offer to acquire rival global convenience-store retailer Seven & i Holdings Co. Ltd., but only if the Tokyo-based company engages in talks, Couche-Tard executives said during a news conference held in Tokyo today to make a case for the transaction, Bloomberg reported.

Alimentation Couche-Tard has taken its $47 billion takeover bid for Seven i directly to the Japanese public, shifting tactics after months of limited engagement from the 7-Eleven owner. The Canadian company,

Couche-Tard will hold its first press conference in Tokyo on Thursday since it announced a bid for Seven & i in August as part of its efforts to win over a Japanese public sceptical of a foreign takeover of a prized national asset.

The directors of Canadian convenience store giant Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT) said on Thursday they were seeking a "friendly" buyout of 7-Eleven but lamented a lack of progress towards a deal.