Japan finance minister says Seven & i’s new ‘core’ tag doesn’t raise bar for buyout

TOKYO (Reuters) – Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Tuesday that Japanese retail giant Seven & i Holdings’ new status as a company “core” to national security would not raise additional hurdles to a potential buyout.

Seven & i, the owner of 7-Eleven convenience stores which recently rejected a $38.5 billion buyout offer from Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard, was among 88 companies newly added to the list last week.

When a company is categorised as core, foreign entities seeking to buy a stake of 1% or more in a Japanese firm must in principle file for a national security review with the Japanese government prior to the purchase.

In cases where control is sought, however, Suzuki said prior notification for a review is mandatory “regardless of whether they are categorised as core or non-core.”

“We can’t say the core classification makes a buyout more difficult,” he added.