The new classification of 7-Eleven’s parent company as a “core company” for Japanese national security will not be an obstacle to a potential takeover, Japan’s finance minister said Tuesday, comments seemingly aimed at assuaging investor concerns about the move.
“We can’t say that the core classification makes a takeover more difficult,” Suzuki told reporters, days after Seven & i Holdings became one of 88 companies added by the government to a list of companies considered critical to national security.
The change led to speculation among some market participants that Seven & I, previously classified as a “non-core business”, was trying to better defend itself against a potential takeover by Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard.
