Seven & i, the Japanese retail giant, is planning to list its 7-Eleven store business in North America next year, as it faces a $47bn takeover attempt by Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard.
The group has also appointed its first ever foreign chief executive and agreed to sell non-core assets to private equity firm Bain Capital for close to ¥814bn ($5.5bn), in its most radical attempt so far to prove to shareholders it should stay independent, the company said on Thursday after the market had closed.
Stephen Dacus, lead independent director and head of the company’s special committee responsible for evaluating the takeover approach from Couche-Tard, will take over from chief executive Ryuichi Isaka. His appointment is subject to approval at the company’s annual shareholder meeting on May 27.
The initial public offering of its North American convenience store business, with 13,145 stores in the US and Canada, is expected to be launched as soon as the second half of 2026. Seven & i intends to retain majority ownership.
The company said it would also carry out a large-scale buyback programme worth as much as ¥2tn by 2030 using the proceeds of the IPO and the sale to Bain of non-core assets that include supermarket, restaurant and speciality stores.
Dacus is expected to continue talks with Couche-Tard while simultaneously trying to boost Seven & i’s valuation, according to people familiar with his thinking. Another independent board member is expected to take over from him as head of the special committee.
Some investors have privately questioned whether Dacus leading the negotiations with the Canadian company represents a conflict of interest as he takes over the chief role.
Seven & i has consistently said that one of the big blockages to a deal with Couche-Tard is antitrust issues in the US where the groups already occupy the top two spots.
On Thursday, the company said “the parties have been working to put together a potential divestiture package (which would be unprecedented in scope and size) that could be divested to a viable, credible, and independent buyer”, and that the special committee “will continue to constructively engage with ACT to determine whether a credible and actionable remedy and divestiture package can be achieved”.
Seven & i’s share price jumped as much as 10 per cent earlier on Thursday on reports of the expected announcements.
However, the groups share price is down 14 per cent so far this year. It fell sharply last month following the failure of a plan by the company’s founding family to launch a buyout, piling pressure on management to demonstrate they had a plan to improve operations.
Isaka was appointed head of Seven & i in 2016 and led a $21bn acquisition of Speedway, the US fuel and convenience store chain. However, he has been criticised by some investors who wanted the company to concentrate more rapidly on its core convenience store business and improve its capital allocation.