THE consortium proposing to take Seven & i Holdings private has tapped Citigroup and Bank of America (BOA) for financing, adding to a growing group of players in the potentially record-breaking management buyout bid, sources familiar with the matter said.
The two US banks’ role in the bid would be to refinance the debt of Seven & i’s US unit, one of the sources said. The company had debt of 2.7 trillion yen (S$24 billion) as at November, 56 per cent of which belongs to the overseas convenience store operations, according to the company’s financial results. Banks typically pass on such debt to outside investors.
Thai conglomerate CP All – which holds the Thai franchise for 7-Eleven – is also weighing plans to take an equity stake in the management buyout of about 500 billion yen, the sources said, joining a plan hatched by Seven & i’s founding Ito family and Familymart-operator Itochu last year.
CP All shares extend their declines on Thursday (Feb 6), falling as much as 5 per cent. Any CP All participation in the deal would lead to higher interest expenses, hindering the company’s profit growth, Asia Plus Securities said in a note this week.
The entities would be some of the final parts of a plan hastily cobbled together to fend off Canadian retailer Alimentation Couche-Tard, whose overtures to Seven & i were made public last August.
Representatives for Citigroup, BOA and CP All did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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The Ito family and Itochu originally planned a buyout effort valued at nine trillion yen – trumping the 7.5 trillion yen Couche-Tard takeover bid. This may be lowered as the company’s current valuation hovers well below either figure. Seven & i’s market capitalisation was around 6.2 trillion yen as at Thursday.
A successful bid would not just allow one of the country’s biggest retailers to restructure in private, but represent a successful group effort from corporate Japan to keep the storied brand out of foreign hands.
The management buyout proposal would involve about four trillion yen in equity stakes with the Ito family contributing around 500 billion yen and Itochu more than one trillion yen. The rest would come from bank financing.
Apollo Global Management is discussing a commitment of as much as 1.5 trillion yen while KKR is also considering a stake, Bloomberg News reported earlier.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group are set to participate in financing. BLOOMBERG
