Tard's attempt to create a global convenience store behemoth was set back when it pulled its $46 billion bid for Seven & i , whose consumers in Japan have emotional ties to their purveyor of rice balls.

Shares in Couche-Tard jumped 8 per cent higher Thursday after the company announced it was dropping its quest to acquire the Japanese company

Canadian retail chain Alimentation Couche-Tard is dropping its proposal to acquire Seven & i Holdings Co_, the Japanese operator of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, citing frustration in ongoing negotiations that showed what it called “a lack of