Ito Yokado Co Ltd

The financially strapped parent of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, Southland Corp., announced Thursday that it has agreed to sell 75% of the company to its longtime Japanese partner in a tentative deal roughly valued at more than $750 million. If completed, the acquisition would be the biggest Japanese investment ever in a U.S. retailer.

The financially strapped parent of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, Southland Corp., announced Thursday that it has agreed to sell 75% of the company to its longtime Japanese partner in a tentative deal roughly valued at more than $750 million. If completed, the acquisition would be the biggest Japanese investment ever in a U.S. retailer.

Debt-ridden Southland Corp., owner of about 6,900 7-Eleven convenience stores, today announced a sweetened restructuring proposal for its bondholders and said it will miss an interest payment due Friday on its public debt. The revised restructuring, a key condition of the troubled company's agreement to sell a controlling interest to its Japan-based partners, would also reduce the stake held by Southland's founding Thompson family.

Southland Corp. filed early today for protection from its creditors along with a reorganization plan that would clear the way for selling control of the nation's largest convenience store operator to a Japanese group. The parent of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain said its bondholders and preferred stockholders have approved the so-called prepackaged reorganization plan, which is being submitted for confirmation by the federal bankruptcy court.

Debt-ridden Southland Corp., parent company of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, announced today it will sell 75% of the world's largest convenience chain to its business partner in Japan. Ito-Yokado Co., Ltd., Japan's largest retailer, said in Tokyo that it will purchase three-fourths of Southland Corp. for $400 million in cash and the assumption of debt.

Southland Corp. said Tuesday that it would eliminate 1,800 jobs during the next few months to cut costs and more efficiently operate its 7-Eleven convenience stores. The move affects 4% of the company's worldwide work force of 42,600, chiefly in local and district marketing groups and corporate offices. Southland took a $17.5-million charge in the second quarter to pay for the restructuring, contributing to a $17.9-million loss for the period.