Seven & i to List N. America Convenience Store Unit

Jiji Press

11:12 JST, March 7, 2025

Tokyo (Jiji Press)—Seven & i Holdings Co. said Thursday it plans to list its North American convenience store unit by the second half of 2026 and to use ¥2 trillion , including funds raised through the listing, to buy back its own shares.

The plan is included in the major Japanese retail group’s new management strategy, which was released on the day. The strategy is aimed at improving its corporate value.

Seven & i will focus its management resources on its convenience store business while selling supermarket and other operations.

The planned share buyback, which would cover more than 30 pct of the company’s market capitalization, is apparently aimed at countering a 7-trillion-yen takeover bid from Canadian convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.

To counter the bid, the group’s founding family and others have been trying to buy the group and take it private, but have failed due to financing difficulties.

Also on Thursday, Seven & i officially announced that President and CEO Ryuichi Isaka, 67, will step down and outside director Stephen Hayes Dacus, 64, will take over the post after a shareholders meeting on May 27.

Dacus, former CEO of Japanese supermarket chain Seiyu, will be the first non-Japanese head of Seven & i.

At a press conference in Tokyo on the day, Dacus said that Seven & i will continue talks with Alimentation Couche-Tard, but added that the Canadian company’s takeover bid could not be realized without clearing antimonopoly regulations.

“There is no guarantee that (the takeover bid) would be the best choice for shareholders,” Isaka said, suggesting that Seven & i will seek to improve its corporate value on its own.

Also under the new management strategy, Seven & i will sell shares in York Holdings Co., its intermediate holding company that controls the Ito-Yokado supermarket chain and other units, to U.S. investment fund Bain Capital for ¥814.7 billion . After the sale, Seven & i will reinvest in York Holdings for a 35 pct stake, while its founding family will hold a 5 pct stake.

Seven & i will also reduce its stake in Seven Bank to less than 40 pct to make it an unconsolidated entity.

“I have laid the foundation for future growth,” Isaka said at the press conference, explaining the reason for his resignation.

Dacus stressed that it is time for Seven & i to accelerate its overseas business expansion as a global convenience store operator.