Japan’s Itochu Corporation has chosen not to participate in the buyout of Seven & i Holdings, a deal proposed by the retailer’s founding family, according to a report from the Nikkei newspaper on Wednesday.
After receiving a takeover bid from Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard last year, Seven & i’s founding Ito family began discussions about taking the company private, with an estimated value of around $58 billion. Itochu had initially considered investing 1 trillion yen ($6.69 billion) in the deal but ultimately concluded that there were low synergies between its food and beverage business and Seven & i, the report said.
Itochu’s involvement in the buyout was always viewed as uncertain, as the trading house already owns FamilyMart, a competitor to Seven & i’s convenience store business. Despite this, the Ito family has reportedly reached out to several private equity firms to gain support for their bid. If successful, this management buyout could become the largest in history.
