Founding family aims to take 7-Eleven parent private

The family of Masatoshi Ito, the founder of 7-Eleven who died last year, has launched a bid to take parent company Seven & i holdings private. Their proposal adds a third option to the existing battle between company management’s plans to boost value and Canadian convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard’s buyout offer. According to Japan’s public broadcaster NHK, the family is seeking to raise more than US$51 billion through a special-purpose company to finance a deal.