JIP, Bain among Bidders for Seven & i Supermarket Biz

Tokyo, Dec. 2 (Jiji Press)--Japan Industrial Partners Inc., an investment firm known as JIP, and U.S. investment fund Bain Capital are among bidders for York Holdings Co., which owns Seven & i Holdings Co.'s supermarket operations, people familiar with the matter said Monday.

The first round of bidding for York, which Seven & i set up in October to control some units, including supermarket chain Ito-Yokado Co., closed on Thursday. Seven & i plans to sell part of York by February 2026 to focus on its convenience store business.

Bidders for York also include trading company Sumitomo Corp., which operates supermarket chain Summit in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and U.S. investment funds KKR and Fortress Investment Group. KKR controls Japanese supermarket chain Seiyu Co.

Seven & i is considering selling York as one entity, but some bidders are apparently looking to acquire York-controlled companies individually.

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