By Anton Bridge
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Seven & i will be looking to convince shareholders it can deliver long-term growth on its own when it speaks to them on Thursday, after announcing a sweeping break-up plan designed to ward off a $47 billion takeover offer.
The 7-Eleven owner is due to hold an “investor day” briefing with analysts and investors and will take questions on its global and domestic convenience store businesses.
Seven & i is fighting to stay independent after Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard announced a preliminary bid in August. The owner of Circle-K convenience stores has since hiked its offer by 22% to around $47 billion, sources have said. If it goes through, the deal would be the largest-ever overseas buyout of a Japanese firm.
While the Japanese 7-Eleven convenience stores are a money-spinner, Seven & i has been hobbled by poor performance at its supermarkets, including Ito Yokado stores which are a crucial part of the holding company it formed decades ago. Some foreign shareholders have long called for a break-up of the business.
Seven & i has said it is “confident” it can unlock shareholder value itself. Under the restructuring announced this month, it aims to split off the supermarket operation and some 30 other “non-core” units into a holding company. Market reception so far has been underwhelming, with shares moving little since Seven & i detailed its plan.
One investor, U.S. fund Artisan Partners, has said the plan is “too little, too late” and has urged Seven & i to engage with Couche-Tard.
“The Couche-Tard offer amplifies the fact that investors may want to be able to cash out of their 7-Eleven shares now instead of banking on an uncertain time frame to see value surface,” said Lorraine Tan, director of equity research for Asia at Morningstar.
“While 7-Eleven’s plan to spin-off non-core businesses is helpful, this initial step doesn’t move the needle much.”
Tan said she would be watching to see how 7-Eleven plans to lower its so-called “SGA” expenses, those related to selling, general and administrative parts of the business. That is particularly a focus point for its U.S. operation, she said.
While 7-Eleven stores are highly profitable in Japan, that’s not true overseas. In Japan, the operating margin is 27%, far above the 3.5% of 7-Eleven stores elsewhere.
Of 7-Eleven’s 85,000 stores worldwide, some 21,000 are in Japan, most of them franchises. Although originally an import before the Japanese company bought out the U.S. firm, 7-Eleven stores have become something of a cultural touchstone in Japan, known for a ready supply of fresh food and everything from toothpaste to socks.
Analysts have said that much of the success of the restructuring plan will hinge on 7-Eleven’s ability to roll out a new store format at home, cut costs and bolster margins overseas.
So far, it has announced plans to close some 444 underperforming stores overseas. It is also beefing up fresh food offerings in the United States.
(Reporting by Anton Bridge; Editing by David Dolan and Christopher Cushing)
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