7-Eleven owner considers going private to avoid foreign buyout: reports [Video]

The Japanese owner of 7-Eleven is considering going private by buying back its own shares in a bid to avoid a takeover by Canadian rival Couche-Tard, reports said on Wednesday.

Seven & i Holdings is eyeing the move as a countermeasure to Circle K owner Alimentation Couche-Tard’s seven trillion yen ($45 billion) takeover proposal, the Nikkei business daily said.

The takeover, if realised, would be the biggest ever foreign buyout of a Japanese firm.

With around 85,000 outlets worldwide, 7-Eleven is the world’s biggest convenience store chain.

Around a quarter of those are in Japan, where the stores are a cherished one-stop shop for everything from rice balls to concert tickets.

Bloomberg News also reported Wednesday that Seven & i was considering a management buyout, or MBO, worth up to nine trillion yen — above its market cap of 5.7 trillion yen.

A Seven & i spokesman told AFP there …