7-Eleven’s parent company Seven & i failed a bid to secure a buyout, sending stocks falling on Thursday. File Photo by Bo Amstrup/EPA-EFE
The founding family of the Japanese firm that currently owns the global 7-Eleven chain fell short in raising enough money to buy out the company with the iconic convenience store brand, sending shares tumbling on Thursday.
Shares of Seven & i Holdings stumbled more than 12% after news broke about the deal falling through. Advertisement
Junro Ito, Seven & i’s vice president and Ito-Kogyo, the firm’s second-largest shareholder at 8.2%, tried to broker a deal with the company. The Japanese trading house Itochu Corp., which owns the convenience store chain FamilyMart, announced it would not get involved with a deal on behalf of the founding family.
Itochu had considered spending as much as $6.7 billion to purchase Seven & i, but said it had a change of heart of Wednesday and decided not to join the effort.
Last year, the parent of Canadian-based convenience store chain Circle K attempted to buy out Seven & i. Alimentation Couche-Tard at the time offered $47 billion in the takeover attempt after Seven & i said Alimentation’s original offer fell well short of what they would consider.
Circle K’s new offer made back in October was about 20% more than the $38.7 billion it offered the Japanese company a month earlier. Advertisement
