7-Eleven owner names new CEO, plans to go public as it fights takeover bid by Quebec’s Couche-Tard [Video]

Japan’s Seven & i Holdings, the parent company of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, has named a new CEO and plans to sell billions in assets as it tries to fend off a takeover bid from a Canadian rival.

On Thursday, Seven & i named its board chairman, Stephen Dacus, as its new president and CEO. Dacus, the former head of Walmart in Japan, will succeed Ryuichi Isaka in May.

Dacus, who is fluent in Japanese, is Seven & i’s first non-Japanese CEO.

The restructuring follows Seven & i’s rejection of a takeover bid by Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard, which owns Circle K and other convenience chains. Dacus said earlier that the offer had undervalued the potential of the convenience store business and failed to fully address U.S. regulatory concerns.

Seven & i said Thursday it plans to sell some non-convenience store assets, including supermarkets and other retail stores, to Bain …