7-Eleven parent names new CEO

JAPAN'S Seven & i Holdings, the parent company of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, has named a new CEO and plans to sell billions in assets as it tries to fend off a takeover bid from a Canadian rival.

On Thursday, Seven & i named its board chairman, Stephen Dacus, as its new president and CEO. Dacus, the former head of Walmart in Japan, will succeed Ryuichi Isaka in May. Dacus, who is fluent in Japanese, is Seven & i's first non-Japanese CEO.

Seven & i said on Thursday it plans to sell some non-convenience store assets, including supermarkets and other retail stores, to Bain Capital for $5.4 billion. The transaction is scheduled to close in September.

The company also said it plans an initial public offering (IPO) of shares in its North American 7-Eleven operations by the end of 2026. That business, based in Irving, Texas, operates and franchises 13,000 stores in the United States and Canada.

Seven & i said it would use the proceeds from the IPO and the sale to Bain Capital to fund share buybacks.

"We have been on a journey to explore opportunities that create the most value for our shareholders and enhance our customers' experiences around the world," Isaka said in a statement. "This is the right time to move these initiatives forward."

Seven & i's share price jumped 6.1 percent in Tokyo.

The restructuring follows Seven & i's rejection of a takeover bid by Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard, which owns Circle K and other convenience chains. Dacus said earlier that the offer had undervalued the potential of the convenience store business and failed to fully address US regulatory concerns.

The company's 7-Eleven holdings include 86,000 stores in the US, Japan and other Asian nations. In contrast to the 7-Elevens in the US mainland, the stores in Japan are known for their variety of food, and have replaced many mom-and-pop shops. Seven & i says 22 million people visit its 22,800 7-Elevens in Japan each day.

Last year, Seven & i announced a restructuring plan to strengthen its US operations and streamline operations, which included closing some Ito-Yokado supermarkets in Japan.

In 2022, Seven & i sold its Sogo & Seibu department stores in Japan to Fortress Investment Group, a US fund, for $1.5 billion. It said it also plans to reduce its share in Seven Bank.