Private Equity Firms Bid on Seven & i Holdings' Non-Core Assets

By Miho Uranaka, Makiko Yamazaki and Ritsuko Shimizu

TOKYO (Reuters) – Private equity firms including KKR and Bain Capital offered from around 750 billion yen ($4.8 billion) to around 1.2 trillion yen ($7.6 billion) in a first round of bidding for the non-core assets of Japan's Seven & i Holdings, according to people familiar with the matter.

KKR offered around 800 billion yen, while rival U.S. firm Bain offered around 1.2 trillion yen. Local buyout firm Japan Industrial Partners made an offer of around 750 billion yen.

All three firms were successful in the first round of bids for the supermarket assets of the 7-Eleven operator. The size of the bids hadn't previously been reported.

A spokesperson for Seven & i declined to comment, stating the bidding process wasn't public. KKR, Bain, and Japan Industrial Partners also chose not to comment.

Seven & i is looking to hive off its non-core businesses, including its sprawling supermarket operations, as a separate unit known as York Holdings.

The retailer's founding family is in separate talks to take Seven & i private through a management buyout to fend off a $47 billion takeover from Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard.

($1 = 157.0300 yen)