7-Eleven billionaire heirs poised for large payout from Circle K operator's offer

Descendants of Masatoshi Ito, who took the American brand 7-Eleven globally, own a vehicle that holds an 8.1% stake worth $3.1 billion in Japan-based Seven & i. The vehicle is the second biggest shareholder in the company, according to Bloomberg.

A 7-Eleven store in Tokyo, Japan. Photo by Reuters

Canada-based Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., which operates Circle K convenience stores, has recently made a "friendly" offer to buy out the Japanese firm.

The deal, if successful, will be the largest foreign takeover of a Japanese company.

News of the deal sent shares of Seven & i surging by almost 23% in Tokyo, valuing the retailer at around 5.6 trillion yen ($38 billion). Couche-Tard is valued at roughly $58 billion, Reuters reported.

Seven & i employs some 77,000 people worldwide, and the bulk of its sales come from its overseas convenience store business. By geography, it is overwhelmingly American, with North America contributing three-quarters of revenue.

The company has formed a committee to review the buyout proposal.

Some analysts, however, have expressed doubt about the deal.

"I strongly doubt that this takeover proposal will come to fruition, especially considering Seven & i's resistance to divesting even their legacy businesses," said Oshadhi Kumarasiri, a LightStream Research analyst.

"Unless the offer comes with a substantial premium over Seven & i's recent highs, it seems improbable that the management would even consider this idea."

Masatoshi Ito, who died in 2023 at the age of 98, expanded his small family-owned shop into one of Japan’s largest retailers and took 7-Eleven convenience stores global.

He had a net worth of US$5 billion at the time of his death, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Ito has three children. His son Junro is an executive vice-president and member of the board of Seven & i.

Couche-Tard founders Alain Bouchard and Jacques D’Amours built 10-figure fortunes from the convenience store business, with net worths of US$7.9 billion and US$3.9 billion respectively, according to Bloomberg’s wealth index.