Seven & i Gears Up for a New Era with CEO Change!

In the latest turn of events, the Japanese convenience store chain Seven & i is expected to overhaul its leadership strategy and appoint a new CEO as it faces a $47 billion foreign takeover bid.

According to Reuters, for the first time, a foreign-born executive, Stephen Dacus, who is likely to succeed Ryuichi Isaka, will be in charge of the Japanese retail conglomerate Seven & i. 

The Three Way Tug Of War!

Seven & i, operating over 80,000 7-Eleven stores across 20 regions around the globe, will announce leadership changes and plans, including selling non-core assets to Bain Capital (amounting to $4.7 billion, as per Reuters). 

Moreover, the company received a buyout offer of $47 billion from Circle-K operator Alimentation Couche-Tard, despite being targeted by investors over capital allocation. 

This triggered a three-way struggle among Canada’s Couche-Tard, a buyout bid from Seven & i’s founding Ito family, and company management, who aimed to pursue an independent recovery strategy.

However, the Ito family failed to collect a reported $58 billion in funding for their offer, scuttling the deal late last month.

Stephen Dacus Role 

Dacus, a former executive at Walmart and Fast Retailing, led a special committee evaluating takeover bids. The Ito family group’s reported $58 billion funding attempt fell through, ending their bid last month. 

According to Nikkei, Dacus will be succeeded by outside director Paul Yonamine as head of the committee.