Quick Take: Seven & I to acquire stake in Zabka: European Food Retail and Japan Consumer

Research evidence excerpt

Quick Take: Seven & I to acquire stake in Zabka: European Food Retail and Japan Consumer

16 July 2026

European Food Retail and Japan Consumer

Quick Take: Seven & I to acquire stake in Zabka

The Nikkei reports that Seven & I are in talks to invest in Zabka to "accelerate expansion Richard Trainor

+44 20 7762 1050 in Europe...the investment is expected to reach several hundred billion yen, with the

richard.trainor@bernsteinsg.com Japanese company considering acquiring a double-digit percentage stake." We recently

initiated coverage on both companies.

William Woods

+44 20 7676 6806 For Zabka this looks like a significant unexpected catalyst. Zabka is the 7-Eleven william.woods@bernsteinsg.com

of Poland with 13k franchised micro-convenience stores with an offering including grab

and go meals, coffee and groceries. This Seven & I investment could be valuable for two Yugo Shima

+81 3 6777 6994 reasons: (1) it makes the significant international opportunity more likely to happen,

yugo.shima@bernsteinsg.com and happen sooner. Zabka has recently begun its expansion into Romania, but only has

c.200 stores there of 13k total (all the rest are in Poland). Zabka have previously assessed

Ran Yang the full potential opportunity in Romania at 7.5k stores. Expanding into Romania and +852 2123 2658

ran.yang@bernsteinsg.com potentially other countries with Seven & I's backing gives them financial firepower, and also

suggests potential sharing of expertise and capability, as well as a vote of confidence in

Alice Buckley Zabka’s model. (2) it may help allay investor concerns about Zabka ownership. The

+44 20 7676 6739 transaction may reduce the stake held by Zabka’s private equity ownership consortium (free alice.buckley@bernsteinsg.com