Group 1 - Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. terminated its acquisition of Japan's Seven & i Holdings Co., leading to significant losses for investment banks like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley [1] - The acquisition was valued at 6.77 trillion yen (approximately 46 billion USD) and was expected to be the largest global merger by 2025 [1] - The failure of the deal is attributed to prolonged negotiations and Couche-Tard's claim of "meaningful negotiations" not taking place [1] Group 2 - Following the announcement, Seven & i's stock price fell by 9.16%, marking the largest single-day drop in three months [2] - Seven & i plans to maintain its independent operational strategy and aims for approximately 2 trillion yen in shareholder returns by the end of fiscal year 2030 through stock buybacks and strategic partnerships [2] - The failed acquisition also impacted other sectors, with Mitsui & Co. missing a chance to sell its 2% stake in Seven & i for about 1 billion USD [2] Group 3 - The Japanese M&A market saw a significant increase, with transaction volumes reaching 232 billion USD in the first half of 2025, more than doubling year-on-year [2] - This surge is driven by government reforms aimed at improving corporate governance and a low-interest-rate environment that encourages foreign investment and private equity activity [2][3] - Major Japanese companies like Toyota and NTT are pursuing privatization of listed subsidiaries, while investment banks are expanding their operations in Japan to capitalize on this trend [3]