Japan’s Seven & i review to continue under investor pressure

By Makiko Yamazaki

TOKYO (Reuters) -Seven & i’s independent directors said on Thursday the Japanese retail giant’s board would continue to review strategic alternatives as it faces pressure for broader reforms from some shareholders including activist ValueAct Capital.

ValueAct, which owns a 4.4% stake in Seven & i and has been pushing for change since 2020, is calling for a spin-off of its 7-Eleven convenience store chain and seeks to replace four of the 14 board members at an upcoming annual meeting.

“The board will continue to review optimal group structure and strategic alternatives,” including a possible initial public offering or a spin-off, the eight directors said in a statement.

A source has said Seven & i president Ryuichi Isaka is one of the board members ValueAct wants to replace.

“The board is currently discussing the shareholder proposals and new board composition, and we plan to announce our decisions in mid April,” Isaka told reporters and analysts on Thursday.

Last month, Seven & i announced the results of a strategic review and said it would close an additional 14 Ito-Yokado supermarket stores in Japan and fully exit its apparel business. Some investors, though, said the review did not go far enough.

The company said on Thursday it would reshuffle its financial services.

Seven & i said in a separate statement that its operating profit rose 30.7% to a record 506.5 billion yen ($3.85 billion) in the financial year to end-February. For the financial year that began on March 1, it forecast a 1.3% profit increase.

($1 = 131.4700 yen)

(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Alexander Smith)