Seven & I Holdings, the parent company of convenience store chain 7-Eleven, is subject to a potential buyout by its founders, the Ito family. According to Japanese financial media outlet Nikkei, the Ito family recently reached out to various U.S. investment firms about partnering up for the deal.
The Ito family previously expressed their interest in taking Seven & i private amid pressure from investors and takeover attempts from foreign companies. However, the family believes it would be difficult to secure the needed capital of $51.7 billion from banks, which is why it approached KKR & Co, Bain Capital, and Apollo Global Management to gauge their interest.
It is estimated that the funding for Seven & i buyout will come together by the end of the 2024 financial year and will include some if not all of Japan’s megabanks like Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group.
Seven & i previously confirmed the Ito family approach but it didn’t provide further details about the negotiations.
Seven & i was previously the subject of a $47 billion takeover from Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard. A special committee formed by Seven & i Holdings rejected the offer, which was met with disapproval in Japan as it would be the largest foreign company takeover in the country’s history.