SoftBank Corp and mobile payments operator PayPay are reportedly in talks to invest in Seven & i Holdings, the Japanese retail group that operates 7-Eleven.

The investment could total several hundred billion yen, and Sumitomo Mitsui Card, a unit of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, may also take a stake.

SoftBank reportedly plans to use its in-house AI to improve store management and introduce autonomous robots to reduce staffing needs at Seven & i stores.

The talks come as Seven & i reshapes its portfolio after agreeing in March 2025 to sell York Holdings’ supermarket and specialty-store businesses to Bain Capital while retaining a partial reinvestment.

Seven & i has also faced years of activist pressure to divest assets, focus on its core convenience-store business, and improve shareholder returns.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

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