The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Alimentation Couche-Tard will now prowl for other targets after ending its nearly year-long pursuit of Japanese rival Seven & i Holdings, as the Canadian convenience store giant tries to revive its main U.S. business in a shaky economy. The Globe's Nicolas Van Praet and Jameson Berkow write that Couche-Tard had hoped to pull off what would have been the biggest foreign takeover of a Japanese corporation. Instead, it ran out of patience with what it said late Wednesday was an unco-operative counterpart. In a scathing letter to Seven & i's board, Couche-Tard called out its rival's directors for waging a "calculated campaign of obfuscation and delay" and questioned the company's governance. After the Circle K chain owner announced it was pulling the plug on its $46-billion (U.S.) takeover effort for the 7-Eleven chain, Couche-Tard closed Thursday at $74, up $5.68, after trading intraday as high as $81. Shareholders had been worried about the debt Couche-Tard would need to finance a purchase as well as possible ownership dilution. "There are lots of other opportunities they likely have," said shareholder Mark Rutherford at Mawer Investment Management in Calgary.