ValueAct Capital Sends Letter to the Board of Seven & i Holdings

ValueAct has been a major shareholder since 2020

After failing to meet the expectations of stakeholders in the Company's March 9^th strategy announcement, ValueAct asks the Board to be transparent and publicly answer 9 questions in their upcoming earnings release

Believes 7-11 alone could be worth around 8,500 yen per share, ~40% potential upside

Full letter and presentation available at https://valueact.com/presentations/

SAN FRANCISCO, April 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ValueAct Capital ("ValueAct"), a global investment firm who has been a major shareholder of Seven & i Holdings ("Seven & i", "the Company"), since 2020, today sent an open letter and presentation (see attached) to the Board of Seven & i.

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ValueAct has a unique 22-year history of helping companies pursue successful transformations and long-term value creation through respectful dialogue and constructive relationship building. According to the letter, ValueAct believes that Seven & i is at a pivotal point in its evolution, with a clear opportunity to create a global champion 7-Eleven company. 

Shareholders have been asking for an objective review of the Company's conglomerate structure due to its poor corporate value creation and operating underperformance for many years. After extensive dialogue over the years ValueAct has been unable to establish confidence in the management, their strategy, or the governance of the Company. 

The Board's "Group Strategy Re-Evaluation" which began in September 2022 held the promise of restructuring the conglomerate, including the creation and listing of a global champion 7-Eleven company which itself could be worth around 8,500 yen per share. 

However, the Company's March 9th follow up announcement failed to meet expectations, continued the status quo conglomerate structure, and led to confusion and disappointment amongst stakeholders.

The letter states that ValueAct holds considerable doubt as to the independence and efficacy of the recent Board review exercise and has little confidence in the outcome. ValueAct believes that messages sent from shareholders to the Board have been clear yet the process to respond has been opaque and inconsistent with governance best practices.

The letter was written to the Board – and shared publicly alongside a presentation – because ValueAct believes there is an urgent need to answer shareholder questions fully and transparently to repair trust in management and in the governance of the Company. 

Importantly, the letter goes on to ask management and the Board to answer 9 specific questions during the Company's April 6 earnings presentation and requests that the Company make a full recording of the prepared remarks and Q&A of the April 6 presentation available in English and Japanese.

About ValueAct Capital
ValueAct Capital, established in 2000, is a global investment firm managing capital on behalf of some of the world's largest institutional investors. The Firm's goal is to transform companies and help them become 21^st Century Global Champions. VAC seeks to identify and invest in high-quality businesses that are temporarily under-valued, taking a patient, collaborative and constructive approach to value building for all stakeholders with long-term investments. The firm generally holds 10-18 investments at any given time, and ValueAct Capital's internal team has built a track record serving on over 55 public company board seats.  For more information, please see https://valueact.com/.  To view the full letter please visit https://valueact.com/presentations/.

CONTACT: [email protected]

SOURCE ValueAct Capital