7-Eleven owner seeks to fend off takeover with buyback, US IPO

The Japanese owner of 7-Eleven, a subsidiary of Seven & i Holdings, announced on Thursday a raft of new measures to fend off a takeover by a Canadian rival, including a huge share buyback and an IPO of its US unit.

The announcements are the latest twist in a saga that began last year, when Seven & i rebuffed a takeover offer worth nearly $40 billion from Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard. Seven & i said it plans to buy back $13.2 billion of its own shares, using funds generated by that IPO and other restructuring measures.

The company also plans to sell its non-convenience-store business - comprising supermarkets, restaurants and other assets -- to US private investment firm Bain Capital for $5.4 billion. Seven & i, which operates some 85,000 convenience stores worldwide, also named Stephen Dacus as its first foreign chief executive to replace Isaka.