Japanese Economy Minister Ryosei Akazawa has addressed the potential acquisition of retail conglomerate Seven & i by a foreign entity, indicating that such a transaction would be closely linked to the nation's security concerns, Reuters has reported. 

The statement of 8 January 2024 is the first acknowledgement from a high-ranking Japanese official of the security implications of the proposed $47bn takeover bid from Canada-based Alimentation Couche-Tard. 

In August 2024, Couche-Tard offered to purchase Seven & i Holdings for $14.86 per share, later raising the bid to $18.19 per share (a total of Y7trn/$47.2bn) after the initial bid was rejected. 

Seven & i Holdings, headquartered in Tokyo, was classified as "core" to Japan's national security in September following clarification from a senior official at Japan's Ministry of Finance that companies cannot invoke national security concerns as a justification to prevent foreign acquisitions. 

During a recent briefing at the Japan National Press Club, Ryosei Akazawa was quoted by the news agency: "Speaking about a potential acquisition of Seven & i, I think the matter is heavily related to (national) security. 

"If Seven & i's convenience store business is in foreign hands and run solely for profits, we'll have to think about [issues] such as whether we can get full support when our people affected by the disaster are suffering."

These comments suggest that any transaction could now face heightened governmental oversight. 

American private equity firm KKR recently considered selling its stake in another Japanese supermarket chain, Seiyu.