Ampol Limited (ASX:ALD) is understood to have hired investment bank UBS for a tilt at its $2 billion rival 7-Eleven, Inc., which is up for sale through Azure Capital. Azure is understood to have received first-round bids for 7-Eleven, and sources have said UBS had been working on an offer for a strategic player, believed to be Ampol, in the lead-up. Ampol most recently worked with investment bank Macquarie Capital in 2021, when it purchased Z Energy, which was advised at the time by Goldman Sachs.

Bids have now landed for the business that has been spitting off large amounts of cash - it generated about $220 million of annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation in the past year. The contest for the convenience retailer owned by the Withers and Barlow families was expected to be dominated by strategic players, as private equity firms are said to be sidestepping the sale process due to the high cost of debt and the company's exposure to the oil refining and tobacco industry.