Update: Directors Jenifer Simms Rogers and Elizabeth Miin Meyerdirk have also resigned from the Seven & i board, effective March 11, the company announced on March 12. Both have been on the board since May 2022.
Joe DePinto, who continues as chief executive officer of 7-Eleven Inc., has resigned from the board of directors of parent company Seven & i Holdings Co. Ltd. at his own request, the Tokyo-based convenience-store retailer announced on Monday. His resignation from the board took effect March 9, Seven & i said.
DePinto, who joined 7-Eleven Inc. as a manager in 2002, became vice president and general manager of operations in 2003, and in 2005 he was named director, president and chief executive officer of 7-Eleven Inc. He became a director of Seven & i in 2015. He was CSP’s Retail Leader of the Year in 2011.
Before joining 7-Eleven, DePinto was senior vice president and chief operating officer of Thornton Oil Corp. and before that, he was president of GameStop Corp.
7-Eleven did not immediately respond to a CSP Daily News request for comment.
Seven & i also made another change in leadership last week as it grapples with a takeover attempt by Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., parent of the Circle K c-store brand. Stephen Dacus, currently chairman of the board and lead independent outside director for Seven & i, will succeed Ryuichi Isaka as president and representative director and CEO at the company, it said. The appointment will be effective after the group’s annual general meeting in May. Isaka will continue to serve as a senior advisor to Seven & i.
Dacus has been a member of the board since May 2022 and was appointed chairman and lead independent outside director in April 2024. During his tenure, he has had an integral role in overseeing the company’s value creation strategy as chairman of the Strategy Committee and Chairman of the Special Committee formed to evaluate acquisition bids and management buyout offers.
Last August, Couche-Tard submitted a bid of $14.86 per share or $39 billion to acquire Seven & i, which rejected the proposal twice, saying it “undervalues” the company. Couche-Tard in October raised its offer to $18.19 per share or $47.2 billion. A $58 billion management buyout with funding from banks, trading company Itochu Corp. and the founding Ito family fell apart in late February with the withdrawal of Itochu.
Seven & i on March 6 issued a press release to provide additional information related to its “constructive, ongoing engagement” with Couche-Tard and other potential acquirers. Along with leadership changes, a U.S. 7-Eleven initial public offering (IPO) and noncore asset sales, the letter focuses on the options for potential divestitures to minimize antitrust issues, including Couche-Tard selling all of its stores in the United States.
In response, Couche-Tard said it has held “exploratory discussions” with buyers for any U.S. stores that would need to be divested to secure regulatory approval for a potential acquisition, and that it has a successful track record of working with U.S. regulators and believes it has a “clear path” to U.S. regulatory approval.
7-Eleven is No. 1 on CSP’s 2024 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count. Alimentation Couche-Tard is No. 2.
Seven & i operates convenience stores, superstores, supermarkets, specialty stores, foodservices, financial services and IT services. Irving, Texas-based 7-Eleven Inc. operates, franchises or licenses more than 83,000 convenience stores in 19 countries and regions, including more than 13,000 7-Eleven convenience stores in the United States and Canada.
Alimentation Couche-Tard, Laval, Quebec, operates in 31 countries and territories, with more than 16,700 stores. Its network includes more than 7,100 stores in the United States, primarily under the Circle K banner.
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