Seven & i Consortium Said to Tap BofA, Citi for Financing

The consortium proposing to take Seven & i Holdings Co. private has tapped Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. for financing, adding to a growing group of players in the potentially record-breaking management buyout bid, people familiar with the matter said.

The two US banks’ role in the bid would be to refinance the debt of Seven & i’s US unit, one of the people said. The company had debt of ¥2.7 trillion ($17.8 billion) as of November, 56% of which belongs to the overseas convenience store operations, according to the company’s financial results. Banks typically pass on such debt to outside investors.