Apollo Global Management APO-A-N is considering investing as much as 1.5 trillion yen ($9.5-billion) in a management buyout of Japan’s Seven & i Holdings, Bloomberg News said on Friday, citing several people with knowledge of the matter.
Under the plan, Seven & i’s founding family will invest 500 billion yen in equity, trading company Itochu Corp will invest over 1 trillion yen in equity, and Apollo up to 1.5 trillion yen in preferred shares, according to the Bloomberg report.
Apollo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, Apollo declined to comment on whether it is engaged with parties for a Seven & i deal.
Seven & i said in November it had received a buyout proposal from the founding family, as it weighs a rival offer from Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard ATD-T.
If it materializes, the management buyout would be the largest in history.
Since then the founding family has approached a number of private equity firms about supporting their bid, sources have said.
Seven & i, meanwhile, has been looking to hive off non-core businesses, including its supermarket operations, into holding unit York Holdings, which will house 31 subsidiaries including the group’s superstores business, baby goods store Akachan Honpo and the company that operates Denny’s restaurants in Japan.
Global private equity firms including KKR & Co and Bain Capital submitted non-binding bids for the non-core assets, Reuters reported in December.
On Thursday, the operator of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain said its operating profit fell 24 per cent in the latest quarter, missing analysts’ estimates, as inflation hit consumer spending in Japan and North America.