Seven&i Holdings 'AA-' Ratings Affirmed, Off CreditWatch; Outlook Negative

Seven&i has completed its acquisition of part of U.S.-based Sunoco's gasoline retail and convenience store business through 7-Eleven, its U.S. operating subsidiary for North American convenience store business. The acquired business is likely to make limited contributions to Seven&i's group profit in the near term, but we think the expanded store network is likely to enhance its convenience store business in North America in the medium term. We expect key financial ratios for Seven&i to deteriorate temporarily because it financed the acquisition with debt and internal group funds, but we expect them to recover in the next one to two years to levels commensurate with the current ratings. We are affirming our ratings on

...+ Seven & i has completed its acquisition of part of U.S.-based Sunoco's gasoline retail and convenience store business through 7-Eleven, its U.S. operating subsidiary for North American convenience store business. + The acquired business is likely to make limited contributions to Seven & i's group profit in the near term, but we think the expanded store network is likely to enhance its convenience store business in North America in the medium term. + We expect key financial ratios for Seven & i to deteriorate temporarily because it financed the acquisition with debt and internal group funds, but we expect them to recover in the next one to two years to levels commensurate with the current ratings. + We are affirming our ratings on Seven & i, Seven-Eleven Japan, and 7-Eleven and are removing the ratings from CreditWatch. + The negative outlooks reflect our view of a more than one-in-three chance that a recovery in key financial ratios will take longer than we assume. This might occur if...

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