Japan’s Itochu 9-month net up 11% as firm mulls investing in Seven & i

Tokyo — Japanese trading house Itochu posted on Thursday an increase of 11% in nine-month net profit to December of 676.5-billion yen ($4.44-billion) from the corresponding period a year earlier.

The company kept unchanged its full-year profit forecast of 880-billion yen for the fiscal year ending in March.

Itochu is considering whether to invest in Seven & i Holdings, but no decision has yet been made, CFO Tsuyoshi Hachimura told a press conference.

“We have built a track record of firmly implementing investment criteria and only investing in projects that contribute to future growth,” Hachimura said.

There was nothing special about the investment in Seven & i, he added, saying Itochu would only invest if stakeholders were satisfied.

Seven & i, the operator of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, is trying to fend off a $47-billion buyout offer from Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT).

After ACT’s bid, the Seven & i group’s founding family started talks to take the company private for an estimated $58-billion, in what would be the largest management buyout in Japanese history.

Some media have said the family sought co-operation from Itochu, which was considering an investment of 1-trillion yen in the company.

Hachimura suggested there are no funding issues, saying it has improved shareholders’ equity over the past years and its credit rating has gone up.

Reuters