Shares of the owner of convenience store giant 7-Eleven jumped after the announcement of a new takeover offer from its Canadian rival Alimentation Couche-Tard.
The new offer values Japan's Seven & i Holdings at more than $47 billion (£36 billion), around 20% more than Couche-Tard's initial offer, according to Bloomberg News.
In September, Seven & I rejected a $38 billion approach from Couche-Tard, saying it vastly undervalued the company and that any potential acquisition would face major regulatory hurdles.
BBC News has contacted Couche-Tard and Seven&i for comment.
Seven & i shares were up about 5% in morning trading in Tokyo after initially jumping 9.5%.
The new offer was reportedly submitted to Seven & i on September 19 and no discussions between the two parties have taken place since.
After the previous offer was rejected, Seven & i was added by the Japanese Ministry of Finance to a list of companies considered “essential” to the country's national security.
The move, widely seen as having little impact on the Couche-Tard takeover attempt, requires potential foreign investors in these Japanese companies to seek a government review.
A Japanese company the size of Seven & i has never been acquired by a foreign company.
Historically, Japanese companies were more likely to buy foreign companies.
Last year, the Japanese government issued new guidelines on mergers and acquisitions, which call on companies not to reject credible takeover offers without proper review.
7-Eleven is the world's largest convenience store chain, with 85,000 locations in 20 countries and territories.
If the deal goes through, Couche-Tard's presence in the United States and Canada would more than double to approximately 20,000 locations and create a 100,000-strong global convenience store chain.
