Investors Weigh Joining Seven & i Management Buyout Bid
TOKYO — Global investment firm KKR & Co. Inc. is reportedly considering taking a stake in the proposed management buyout offer that would take Seven & i Holdings Co. Ltd., parent company to 7-Eleven Inc., private.
Such a move could put it in company with asset management firm Apollo Global Management, which is also reportedly mulling a stake in the bid.
According to sources familiar with the matter, KKR is discussing a possible investment of several hundred billion yen for an equity stake, reported the Japan Times.
[Read more: Seven & i Targets Growth Following Transitional Period]
Meanwhile, Apollo Global is said to be considering a commitment of up to 1.5 trillion yen ($8.7 billion U.S. dollars).
Japan-based Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group are also said to be participating in the financing of the buyout proposal led by Junro Ito, son of Seven & i company founder Masatoshi Ito and current vice president and representative director, and his private company Ito-Kogyo Co. Ltd.
The $58 billion buyout proposal, which was confirmed in mid-November 2024, would include $25.7 billion in equity stakes, with the rest coming from bank financing, according to the news outlet. Banks are requesting that investors involved in deal negotiations obtain an investment-grade credit rating before they will approve financing. Banks are also asking investors to raise a "solid" amount of equity to secure the rating.
Details of the investment structure, ratio of voting rights and composition of board members are still being negotiated, sources said.
News of potential equity partnerships could put Ito and Ito-Kogyo in a better position to beat out Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.'s reported $47 billion acquisition.
Seven & i confirmed it is reviewing both offers with no guarantee that either will be accepted. The company is currently moving forward with plans to break up into two businesses, with one focused solely on its convenience and fuel retailing operations.