ALIMENTATION Couche-Tard Inc. told Seven & i Holdings Co. that it wants to work together to agree on a “friendly” takeover, after the Japanese convenience store operator pushed back on the Canadian company’s initial proposal.

Couche-Tard remains “highly focused on consummating a transaction with 7&i that is in the best interests of all constituencies,” the company said in statement that confirmed an earlier Bloomberg News report.

Seven & i shares rose 3.2% to ¥2,200 in early morning trading in Tokyo on Monday, giving the company a market value of about ¥5.7 trillion ($40 billion). That’s slighly higher compared with Couche-Tard’s initial proposal of about $14.86 per share. While Seven & i, the operator of 7-Eleven shops, rejected this as too low and fraught with regulatory risk, it signaled a willingness to consider a sweetened offer.

The back-and-forth between Seven & i and Couche-Tard signals a new phase in the potential deal, which would create a global convenience store behemoth with more than 100,000 stores and represent the biggest-ever foreign takeover of a Japanese company. It would also be a key test of whether the environment in Japan has become easier for mergers and acquisitions.

In its statement, Couche-Tard said it is “disappointed” by Seven & i’s refusal to engage in friendly discussions. “In addition to enabling Couche-Tard to find more value, engagement will also enable us to refine our regulatory proposal to sufficiently address deal certainty,” the company said.

Previously, an attempt at such a transaction would have been dismissed as unlikely, given the protectionist tendencies of Japan’s government and boards prioritizing stability over shareholder value. But new corporate guidelines have been issued to inject more vigor into corporate Japan through improved governance and protections for investors.

Couche-Tard said in its statement that it’s confident it has sufficient capacity to finance a takeover of Seven & i in cash, and that it would work alongside the Japanese company to consider divestitures that may be required to secure regulatory approvals for any deal.

“We believe that, working together, we can successfully reach and complete a mutually agreeable transaction,” Couche-Tard said. –BLOOMBERG