Pedestrians stroll previous a 7-Eleven comfort retailer in central Tokyo on February 27, 2025. Shares within the Japanese proprietor of 7-Eleven plunged as a lot as 12 p.c on February 27 after the comfort retailer big mentioned its founding household did not put collectively a white-knight buyout. (Photograph by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)
Tokyo, Japan — Shares within the Japanese proprietor of comfort retailer big 7-Eleven jumped greater than 4 p.c Monday after a report mentioned its CEO would get replaced.
Final week, Seven & i mentioned its founding household had did not put collectively a white-knight buyout to fend off a takeover bid from Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT).
Japan’s Nikkei enterprise every day reported Monday that Seven & i’s president Ryuichi Isaka would get replaced by outdoors director Stephen Hayes Dacus — who is about to turn into the retailer’s first overseas CEO.
READ: 7-Eleven proprietor shares plunge as household buyout fails
Dacus has held senior positions in varied main retail companies, from Walmart to Uniqlo’s guardian firm Quick Retailing.
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A proper choice will probably be made at a board assembly, the newspaper mentioned, citing sources acquainted with the matter. Jiji Press additionally reported that Isaka would step down.
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“This was not an official announcement from our firm. There isn’t a such truth,” a Seven & i spokesman mentioned.
Seven & i shares rose as a lot as 4.6 p.c earlier than paring features to commerce up simply 0.1 p.c mid-morning.
With round 85,000 shops, 7-Eleven is the world’s largest comfort retailer model. The franchise started in the US, but it surely has been wholly owned by Seven & i since 2005.
ACT, which started with one retailer in Quebec in 1980, now runs almost 17,000 comfort retailer shops worldwide together with the Circle Ok chain.
Final 12 months Seven & i rejected a suggestion value almost $40 billion from ACT — which might have been the most important ever overseas buyout of a Japanese firm.
At the same time as ACT reportedly sweetened its bid, Seven & i mentioned in November it was learning a counter-offer from its founding Ito household reportedly value round eight trillion yen ($53 billion).
The household had been reportedly negotiating financing from prime Japanese banks in addition to firms corresponding to Itochu Corp, which owns the FamilyMart chain.
However Seven & i mentioned Thursday it had been instructed it could be “troublesome to acquire the mandatory funds” for such a buyout.
ACT then mentioned “we stay up for working constructively with Seven & i to achieve a pleasant settlement”.
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In September, when Seven & i rejected the preliminary takeover provide from ACT, the corporate mentioned it had “grossly” undervalued its enterprise and will face regulatory hurdles.
