The founding Ito family of Seven & i Holdings, 7-Eleven’s parent company, has failed to secure the money to buy it out, the company said Thursday. The announcement comes months after the family launched a bid worth over $50 billion, reported The New York Times.
"There is no actionable proposal from Mr. Junro Ito and Ito-Kogyo for Seven & i to consider at this time," the company said in a statement. Seven & i Holdings said that it would assess alternatives, including the $47 billion proposal from Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard that the company had rejected.
Junro Ito, an executive at Seven & i and the son of its founder, and Ito-Kogyo, the family’s asset management company, started their buyout attempt in November, after Couche-Tard, the operator of the Circle K banner, offered its takeover bid.
In a new update, the Japanese retail giant is said to be finalizing a plan for its chief executive to step down, mostly likely to be replaced by its first foreign chief. Reuters and Bloomberg are among the outlets to cover this breaking development.
The outlets reported that the leading contender to be the new CEO is said to be Stephen Dacus, formerly the head of Japan Walmart.
“The battle for control of 7-Eleven reflects the sweeping changes underway in corporate Japan, where the convenience store chain is considered a national treasure, making any foreign-led takeover a long shot. Japan has long been regarded as impenetrable for foreign companies seeking mergers and acquisitions,” wrote the NYT.
NYT wrote that Seven & i has said Couche-Tard’s proposed buyout would trigger competition investigations in the United States, where 7-Eleven and Circle K are the two leaders in store count. In its statement on Thursday, the Japanese company said it was working with Couche-Tard to determine if a proposal that addressed this regulatory issue was possible.
The upcoming March issue of NACS Magazine will include the latest c-store counts in the United States. 7-Eleven and Circle K combine for more than 17,000 U.S. locations.