By Jinjoo Lee

Ever since a Canadian suitor came along with a takeover proposal, the owner of 7-Eleven has been grappling with two seemingly conflicting objectives: Keeping control within familiar Japanese hands and making shareholders happy. Its latest set of proposals are yet another attempt to do both.

Seven & i's preferred solution-a generous buyout from the company's founding family-went out the window recently, when the buyers said they couldn't secure enough financing.

The company on Thursday proposed a second-best set of shareholder-appeasing proposals, including naming its first American chief executive. Stephen Dacus replaces Ryuichi Isaka, who has clashed with activist investors. The company also reported progress on non-core asset sales: It sold its low-margin superstore business to Bain Capital. Proceeds will help fund a $13 billion share buyback program.

Most eye-catching is Seven & i's proposed split of its North American convenience store business, which it plans to list on a U.S. stock exchange in the second half of 2026. The company still plans to maintain its majority stake.

Seven & i's shares rose 6% on Thursday. This doesn't make up for all the declines in the past few days. Its shares shed about 12% on the day the company confirmed that the founding family withdrew its offer. It has fallen even more since reports emerged that the company plans to reject the takeover offer from Canada's Couche-Tard. On Thursday Seven & i said it is still assessing the Couche-Tard proposal.

The partial spin-off of the North American business seems like a good compromise. For shareholders, it would be a chance to see how much the markets are willing to value its North American business as a standalone entity. And down the road, Couche-Tard could choose to make an offer for the spun-off North American business instead of going for the whole conglomerate.

The Japanese convenience store business was, in any case, an awkward fit for Couche-Tard, which has no operations in the country. The company would also have had to raise sizable debt and equity to buy the whole Japanese group; just purchasing the North American piece looks more digestible.

Are these recent moves enough to satisfy shareholders? Seven & i shares are about 20% higher than where they were before Couche-Tard unveiled its takeover offer, but about 20% lower than its latest bid. It is unclear how much of their gains reflect shareholder hope for a Couche-Tard deal, or their approval of Seven & i's standalone plans.

Either way, what is clear is that the proposed Canadian takeover has made it impossible for 7-Eleven's owner to ignore its shareholders.

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March 06, 2025 14:55 ET (19:55 GMT)

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