Bulletin: Seven&i Holdings' Creditworthiness Threatened By Family's Buyout Plan

TOKYO (S&P Global Ratings) Nov. 14, 2024--Seven&i Holdings' creditworthiness faces serious harm if a management buyout led by the company's founding family is successful. Seven&i (A/Stable/--) announced Nov. 13, 2024, that it had received a buyout offer that was nonbinding and confidential from Mr. Junro Ito, the company's executive vice president and a member of the founding family, and Ito-Kogyo Co. Ltd., the family's asset management company. If the management buyout goes through and the company is made private, its creditworthiness is likely to deteriorate significantly, in our view. In general, we recognize that the majority of the share buyback funds required to take a listed company private, such as an MBO, are often raised with

...November 14, 2024 TOKYO (S&P Global Ratings) Nov. 14, 2024--Seven & i Holdings' creditworthiness faces serious harm if a management buyout led by the company's founding family is successful. Seven & i (A/Stable/--) announced Nov. 13, 2024, that it had received a buyout offer that was nonbinding and confidential from Mr. Junro Ito, the company's executive vice president and a member of the founding family, and Ito-Kogyo Co. Ltd., the family's asset management company. If the management buyout goes through and the company is made private, its creditworthiness is likely to deteriorate significantly, in our view. In general, we recognize that the majority of the share buyback funds required to take a listed company private, such as an MBO, are often raised with debt. A company that goes private is often ultimately obligated to repay this debt. The management buyout is a possible countermeasure to a proposed huge acquisition by Montreal-based convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard...

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