Seven & i to Start Sale Of Majority Stake In Supermarkets: Nikkei

Japan's Seven & i Holdings plans to seek buyers for a majority stake in its supermarket businesses, including its flagship Ito-Yokado, with the process set to begin as early as the end of this year, Nikkei business daily reported, Rocky Swift and Satoshi Sugiyama reported for Reuters.

The retail chain aims to sell the businesses to overseas investment funds, among other potential buyers. I Photo: Jara2000 Wikimedia Commons

The retail chain aims to sell the businesses to overseas investment funds, among other potential buyers, the Nikkei reported without citing sources.

The plan may be disclosed at a recent earnings announcement, according to the newspaper. A Seven & i spokesperson, responding to the Nikkei report, stated: "It is not something officially announced by our company, and there are no facts that have been decided at this time."

Earlier, Bloomberg News reported that Seven & i Holdings had approached private equity funds and other parties about a potential sale of Ito-Yokado and other supermarkets, citing people familiar with the matter.

Based on earnings multiples, the sale value could reach 320 billion yen ($2.19 billion), Bloomberg noted, citing one of the sources. This follows a report that Seven & i was considering selling part of its Seven Bank unit, Ritsuko Shimizu also reported for Reuters.