Seven & I Holdings plans to select U.S. investment fund Bain Capital as the preferred bidder for a stake in an intermediate company that runs the retail group's supermarket and other operations, it was learned Saturday.
Bain Capital is believed to have offered more than ¥700 billion for the corporate value of York Holdings, which owns supermarket chain Ito-Yokado and other units.
Seven & I is expected to enter into final negotiations with Bain Capital on the investment ratio and other matters, informed sources said.
Bain Capital and two other companies passed the first round of bidding for York. The two others are U.S. investment fund KKR and Japan Industrial Partners.
Seven & I held an extraordinary board meeting in recent days, deciding to pick Bain Capital as the preferred bidder after examining York's corporate values and growth strategies presented.
In order to attract more customers to Ito-Yokado outlets, Bain Capital may seek cooperation with major Japanese real estate company Hulic, which has a track record of renovating stores.
York, set up in October last year, controls 31 companies, including variety store operator The Loft, baby goods retailer Akachan Honpo and Seven & I Food Systems, which operates restaurant chains including Denny's.
Seven & I plans to sell a majority stake in York by February 2026 in order to focus on its management resources on its convenience store business.
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