Japan’s Seven & i, facing a $47 billion Couche-Tard bid, to separate some assets

3:16 am Thursday, October 10th, 2024

By Anton Bridge

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s Seven & i Holdings will set up a holding company for its non-core assets to bring in outside investment and is planning to change its name, the retailer said on Thursday.

The announcements mark an acceleration in its plans to boost corporate value and focus on its core convenience store business in part to resist a takeover bid by Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT).

The operator of 7-Eleven stores – numbering over 80,000 worldwide – has been under pressure from investors to divest from its large portfolio of peripheral businesses.

The parent company’s tentative new name is “7-Eleven Corp” to emphasise the focus on convenience stores and Seven & i said the change will be “addressed” at its annual shareholders’ meeting in May 2025.

Despite sales of some non-core holdings, such as department store unit Sogo & Seibu last year, Seven & i’s operations remain diverse.

The new company would contain a total of 31 subsidiaries, including the group’s superstores business, general goods store Loft, baby goods store Akachan Honpo and the operating company of Denny’s restaurants in Japan, Seven & i’s presentation said.

Seven & i is aiming for the new structure, to be named York Holdings, to become an equity method affiliate by February 2026 with an initial public offering planned for some point thereafter.

ACT has upped the ante following its initial bid in August with a revised offer that values Seven & i at $47 billion, or 22% above its initial offer, two sources said on Wednesday.

It remains to be seen whether Seven & i’s latest moves will satisfy foreign investors who have been calling for several years for the sale of under-performing assets.

On Thursday Seven & i provided no additional details on ACT’s revised bid beyond its confirmation of having received a bid the previous day.

(Reporting by Anton Bridge; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Muralikumar Anantharaman)