Private equity firm Fortress Investment Group is nearing a deal to acquire Seven & i Holdings Co.’s Sogo & Seibu Co. chain of department stores in Japan for more than 200 billion yen ($1.4 billion), according to people familiar with the matter.
(Bloomberg) — Private equity firm Fortress Investment Group is nearing a deal to acquire Seven & i Holdings Co.’s Sogo & Seibu Co. chain of department stores in Japan for more than 200 billion yen ($1.4 billion), according to people familiar with the matter.
The discussions are in their final stage and an announcement could come as soon as Thursday, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. Fortress is set to team up with Japanese electronics and appliance retailer Yodobashi Holdings Inc., which could become tenants of some of the Sogo & Seibu department stores, the people said. The board of Seven & i is due to meet on Thursday, they said.
While talks are advanced, they could still be delayed or even fall apart, the people said. A representative for Seven & i declined to comment on the deal, reiterating that the company is carrying out a strategic review for the department store business as it has been. A representative for Fortress didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment before US business hours.
Seven & i has been looking to offload the Sogo & Seibu unit and focus on its convenience store and supermarket businesses. Earlier this year, it appointed a financial adviser to conduct a strategic review for Sogo & Seibu, including an option to sell the operation.
The department and specialty store operations reported 226 billion yen in revenues for the latest quarter, a 68% jump from a year earlier, thanks to the recovery in mainstream apparel and luxury brands sales. The unit’s operating income for the quarter was 465 million yen, compared to a loss for the same period in 2021.
SoftBank acquired Fortress in 2017, intending to use the New York-based firm’s expertise to help manage its behemoth Vision Fund. The firm, led by co-Chief Executive Officers Pete Briger and Wesley Edens, managed $44.4 billion as of June 30, according to its website. Mubadala Investment Co. was nearing a deal to buy Fortress from SoftBank in a purchase that could value the US asset manager at more than $2 billion, Bloomberg News reported in September.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
