Funding for Seven & i founding family buyout will be finalised by end Dec, say sources By Reuters

By Kane Wu and Miho Uranaka

TOKYO (Reuters) -Funding for the proposed buyout of Japan’s Seven & i Holdings by its founding family will be finalised by the end of December and will involve Japan’s three largest lenders, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (NYSE:), Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:) and Mizuho (NYSE:) Financial Group will each provide funding for the buyout, said the people, who declined to be identified as the matter has not been made public.

MUFG, SMFG, Mizuho, and Seven & i declined to comment.

The operator of more than 80,000 7-Eleven convenience stores around the world is caught in a three-way tug-of-war between a foreign suitor, its founding family, and company management who say their growth plan can enhance value.

Earlier on Wednesday, shares in Seven & i jumped following a media report that the founding Ito family was aiming to take the retailer private within this financial year ending in February.

Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported on Tuesday that the Ito family aimed to raise more than $51.7 billion to take the company private through a special purpose company, which is in talks with Japan’s three largest lenders and major U.S. financial institutions.

Seven & i said on Wednesday it was not the source of the media report about the founding family’s bid. The company said no decision had been made about proposed deals from the Ito family, Canadian suitor Couche-Tard, or any third party.

The shares surged as much as 11% and finished the day up 6.52% at 2,597 yen ($16.68), compared with a 0.16% drop in the benchmark average.

Alimentation Couche-Tard, which competes with Seven & i in the North American gas station market, in August made an initial bid to take over the Japanese retail giant. It later raised its offer to $47 billion, in what would be the largest-ever foreign takeover of a Japanese company.

($1 = 155.7400 yen)