SoftBank Corp and its mobile payments affiliate PayPay are in preliminary talks to acquire a significant stake in Seven & i Holdings, the parent company of 7-Eleven. The potential investment could reach 300 billion yen, roughly $1.85 billion, according to reports from Bloomberg and Nikkei.
The deal, if completed, would fuse PayPay’s mobile payment infrastructure with the physical retail footprint of Japan’s largest convenience store chain. It would also bring SoftBank’s AI capabilities into store operations, from inventory management to autonomous robots designed to reduce labor costs.
What the deal looks like
Sumitomo Mitsui Card, a unit of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, may also participate in the investment. The companies are exploring new share issuances as a mechanism for the deal, with the parties reportedly aiming to close by summer 2026.
No agreements have been finalized. None of the involved parties have issued public comments, and the negotiations remain at an early stage.
