Seven & i Holdings Plans to Sell Majority Stake in Supermarkets

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Seven & i Holdings intends to seek buyers for a majority stake in its supermarket businesses, including the flagship Ito-Yokado. The process could begin by the end of this year, as reported by Nikkei.

The retail chain aims to sell the businesses to overseas investment funds, along with other possible buyers. The plan may be disclosed during an earnings announcement on October 10, according to the newspaper.

A spokesperson for Seven & i stated that the report was not an official announcement and that no decisions have been made yet.

Earlier, Bloomberg reported that Seven & i had approached private equity funds regarding a potential sale of Ito-Yokado and its supermarkets. The sale could value the business at approximately 320 billion yen ($2.19 billion), as per Bloomberg’s sources.

This follows a previous report that Seven & i was considering selling a portion of its Seven Bank unit. Last month, the parent company of 7-Eleven rejected a $38.5 billion offer from Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard.

Seven & i has faced pressure from investor ValueAct Capital to enhance its asset allocation, leading to the divestiture of lower-performing assets. In April, the company announced its consideration of a listing for its superstore business, comprising primarily supermarkets, as part of a strategy to maximize corporate value.

($1 = 146.4400 yen)