Artisan Partners Calls for Bidding Process for Seven & i Holdings

TOKYO (Reuters) – Artisan Partners, a U.S.-based investor in Japanese retail giant Seven & i Holdings, has urged the company's special committee to consider a bidding process for competing takeover proposals to secure the highest offer.

The owner of 7-Eleven, Seven & i, received a buyout proposal from a member of its founding Ito family on Wednesday. This potential $58 billion white-knight bid is being weighed alongside a rival offer from Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard.

The offer from Ito-Kogyo, linked to Seven & i Vice President Junro Ito, is non-binding and currently under review by the same special committee assessing Couche-Tard's bid.

Artisan portfolio manager Ben Herrick stated that the fund supports both offers at this stage and urged the committee to consider a formal bidding process, including an auction, to explore additional third-party interest.

He also emphasized that both parties should be granted equal access to conduct due diligence. "It is imperative for the board and special committee to act with a sense of urgency without further delay," Herrick added.

Artisan holds 1.11% of Seven & i shares, according to LSEG data, and is one of the vocal foreign investors urging the company to focus on its core convenience store business.