Japan's Seven & I Set to Announce New CEO, Restructuring Plan

Seven & I Holdings, the Japanese operator of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, is expected to announce a change in CEO and plans to restructure its business, sources said, amid a $47 billion foreign takeover bid, Ritsuko Shimizu and Rocky Swift reported for Reuters.

The retail conglomerate plans to announce a share buyback of about 2 trillion yen ($13.4 billion). I Photo: caltheambulance Flickr

Lead outside director Stephen Dacus will likely succeed Ryuichi Isaka as chief executive at Seven & I, sources told Reuters, marking the first time a foreign executive will lead the Japanese company.

The company said in a statement that it would hold a media briefing at 5 p.m. (0800 GMT) in Tokyo, without providing further details.

The retail conglomerate plans to announce a share buyback of about 2 trillion yen ($13.4 billion), according to Bloomberg News. Following the report, Seven & I’s stock surged by as much as 10%.

Additionally, the company plans to list its North American convenience store subsidiary, aiming to raise 1 trillion yen or more from the sale while retaining a majority stake, according to Nikkei.

Seven & I, which operates more than 80,000 7-Eleven stores across 20 countries and regions, is expected to hold a board meeting before announcing the leadership change and outlining its restructuring plans, including the sale of non-core assets to Bain Capital, sources said.

The company has long faced investor criticism over its capital allocation. In August, it received a buyout offer from Alimentation Couche-Tard, the Circle-K operator, which was later raised to $47 billion—a 35% premium to Seven & I’s market capitalization.