:Shares in Seven & i Holdings surged 9.5 per cent in morning trading on Wednesday after Bloomberg News reported Alimentation Couche-Tard upped its acquisition price offer to $18.19 per share.

The new bid would value the Japanese retailer at 7 trillion Yen ($47.27 billion) and is 20 per cent higher than Couche-Tard's previous offer, Bloomberg said, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

The operator of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain rejected the original offer last month saying it "grossly undervalues" its business.

($1 = 148.0800 yen)