Private equity firms KKR and Bain Capital have each offered more than $5 billion for the non-core assets of Japan’s Seven & i Holdings.
KKR offered around 800 billion yen ($5.1 billion) for York Holdings, an entity due to be spun out of the Japanese retailer. Rival U.S. firm Bain offered around 1.2 trillion yen. Local buyout firm Japan Industrial Partners offered around 750 billion yen.
All three firms were successful in the first round of bids for the assets, according to sources familiar with the matter. The size of the bids exceeds Seven & i’s expected enterprise value of 500 billion yen.
The retailer is looking to hive off non-core businesses, including supermarkets, into the York Holdings unit. Its founding family is also in talks to take the company private for a $47 billion takeover offer.
Seven & i aims to select the winning bid by early February and finalize the decision by spring. The three firms will submit legally binding proposals, which may be altered following due diligence. Unsuccessful bidders could still enter negotiations if the three fail to reach an agreement with Seven & i.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/kkr-bain-bids-ranged-48-bln-76-bln-seven-i-assets-sources-say-2024-12-25