Seven & i delays listing of North America business

TOKYO, April 9 (Reuters) - Seven & i Holdings 3382.T said on Thursday it has pushed back the timing of the listing of its North American operations to the financial year starting April 2027 or later, rather than in the second half of 2026.

• The decision reflected heightened market uncertainty and the difficulty of predicting the impact on personal consumption, a spokesperson for the Japanese convenience store operator said.

• Seven & i, which operates the 7-Eleven chain, reiterated its plan to buy back about 2 trillion yen ($12.59 billion) worth of shares by fiscal 2030, including 600 billion yen already completed in the financial year ended March 2025.

• News of the delay was first reported by the Nikkei business daily shortly before the close of trading on Thursday, sending Seven & i shares down 4.6%.

• Last year, Seven & i was the target of a $46 billion bid by Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard ATD.TO.

• The bid was withdrawn after Couche-Tard said the retailer had refused to engage constructively on a deal that would have been Japan's largest-ever foreign buyout.

($1 = 158.8300 yen)