Couche-Tard shelves $5.6bn acquisition of Caltex Australia.

Couche-Tard, an operator of a network of 24-hour convenience stores, offered $6.8bn for Caltex Australia, a gas station and convenience store operator. Couche-Tard made an indicative $23.4 a share offer, a nearly 16% premium to the petrol pump and convenience store operator's last closing price, and 7% higher than the $21.7 per share offer it previously received from the Canadian company. If the deal goes ahead, it will mark Couche-Tard's first foray into Australia and its most important transaction. “We believe this is a very compelling offer for Caltex shareholders, representing an excellent premium and certainty of value today. ACT’s management team has been looking into the Asia-Pacific region for several years as a potential market for our continued growth and we see many opportunities," Brian Hannasch, ACT President and CEO. Couche-Tard shelves the acquisition by the impact of the virus, as fuel demand plunges and as companies look inward to get through the crisis.