7-Eleven parent shareholders OK 1st foreign CEO amid buyout talks
The new top executive of Seven & i Holdings Co, the Japanese operator of the Seven-Eleven convenience store chain, said Tuesday that he is committed to growth over the next decade, as the retail giant strives to enhance its corporate value in the face of a takeover bid by a Canadian rival.
Stephen Hayes Dacus was officially appointed as its first foreign CEO following approval at an annual shareholders meeting.
At the meeting, the new CEO vowed "efforts in making sure that the next 10 years is better than the last 10 years," as Seven & i implements restructuring steps to focus more on the convenience store business, which has seen slowing growth in Japan and the United States.
Its shareholders approved the appointments of Dacus, 64, and 12 other board members, including Junro Ito, a member of its founding family, 66, as chairman and Takashi Sawada, former president of rival convenience store operator FamilyMart Co, as outside director.
Dacus, replacing Ryuichi Isaka, 67, became a Seven & i outside director in 2022 after working as an executive at various Japanese companies, including Fast Retailing Co, the owner of the Uniqlo clothing chain, and the operator of the Sushiro conveyor belt sushi restaurant chain.
"I know how important...the management of this business is to the people who run our business" on site, said Dacus, who has experience working during his teenage years at a 7-Eleven store in the United States owned by his father.
"I also know how important it is for our stock and our performance to reflect that, so that our shareholders, who are also our customers, can benefit from the company's growth," said Dacus, who is a former CEO of the operator of rival retailer Seiyu Co, which was part of U.S. retail giant Walmart Inc.
Seven & i said last year it had received a buyout offer of around 7 trillion yen ($49 billion) from Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc, the operator of the Circle K convenience stores.
The Japanese company's special committee is examining the offer and the option of a go-it-alone path from the perspective of maximizing value for shareholders.
When one shareholder suggested the company opt for the buyout during the meeting, Isaka said Seven & i will examine the "two options as we pursue constructive talks with (Couche-Tard) and the steady implementation of our own measures in parallel."
Ito, along with Ito-Kogyo Co, which manages the founding family's assets, had sought to take the retail conglomerate private through a management buyout to block the takeover by Couche-Tard but gave up on the plan after struggling to raise funds.
The deal, estimated to cost around 9 trillion yen, would have been the biggest management buyout in Japan.
Seven & i outlined a series of restructuring plans such as the sale of its supermarket business and a massive share buyback to boost its corporate value in an apparent bid to fend off Couche-Tard's takeover attempt.
Among reform steps, Seven & i agreed to sell its subsidiary operating the Ito-Yokado supermarket chain to U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital for 814.7 billion yen, while planning a U.S. listing for its U.S. 7-Eleven convenience store business unit in 2026.
The company also said it will sell part of its shareholdings in Seven Bank Ltd. to deconsolidate the banking subsidiary.
The Japanese company said in October last year it planned to change its name to "7-Eleven Corp" to emphasize its focus on the retail brand, pending shareholder approval at Tuesday's meeting.
But the plan was not included in proposals to vote on at the shareholders' meeting, with more time needed for in-house coordination.
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