TOKYO — The Japanese owner of 7-Eleven rejected a buyout offer from a Canadian convenience store giant, snubbing a deal that likely would’ve been the largest foreign-led acquisition of a Japanese company.

The move, while expected, will put pressure on the Japanese company to show it is taking other steps to increase the company’s value for its shareholders.

The Tokyo-based operator of 7-Eleven, Seven & i Holdings, said last month that it had received an unsolicited takeover proposal from Alimentation Couche-Tard.

In a letter to Couche-Tard released last week, Seven & i said its board of directors had concluded, based on a recommendation from a committee of independent directors, that the offer was not in the best interest of shareholders.

Seven & i said it had found that Couche-Tard’s offer “grossly undervalues our stand-alone path and the additional actionable avenues we see to realize and unlock shareholder value,” wrote Stephen Dacus, a Seven & i outside director and chair of the committee.

Alimentation Couche-Tard operates more than 16,000 Couche-Tard and Circle K stores across North America and Europe. Seven & i sits atop a network of 85,000 stores, primarily in Asia and the United States. Couche-Tard’s takeover of Seven & i would have positioned it as one of the world’s largest retail groups.

Couche-Tard had offered to purchase all of the outstanding shares of Seven & i for $14.86 each, according to the letter, slightly below where the shares were trading Friday morning. The price of Couche-Tard’s offer had not been previously disclosed.

Seven & i said it believed the proposed buyout would trigger competition investigations from regulators in the United States, where Couche-Tard and Seven & i are the two largest operators of convenience stores. Couche-Tard could not be reached for comment.

In Japan, 7-Eleven is considered something of a national treasure, making any foreign-led takeover a long shot. Analysts questioned whether Couche-Tard would be capable of operating 7-Eleven stores better than their current owner.

Any acquisition could have also triggered opposition from government officials in Japan.

In recent years, a growing number of Japanese companies have faced pressure from investors to bolster their market valuations.

The decision to reject the buyout offer could open Seven & i to heightened provocation from investors who believe the company is worth more than its current market value.

Seven & i operates a number of businesses, including a supermarket chain in Japan. Activist fund ValueAct Capital Management has been pushing Seven & i to narrow its focus to 7-Eleven stores, arguing that they would be worth more as a stand-alone company.

In the weeks since Couche- Tard’s bid was disclosed, some Seven & i shareholders have publicly called on the company to seriously evaluate the Canadian group’s offer.