Seven & i shares jump 3% on Zabka convenience store stake talks

"Amid overall market weakness due to falling semiconductor stocks, defensive sectors centered on domestic demand are being bought," said Naoshi Matsumoto, an analyst at Yamawa Securities.

Aeon 8267.T, Japan's largest retailer, also climbed 3% while memory chipmaker Kioxia 285A.T fell 15%. Warsaw-listed Zabka, which has more than 13,000 stores in Poland and Romania, climbed 11% overnight on the news.

In 2021, Seven & i acquired Speedway petrol stations, extending its position in the U.S. It already has outlets in three Nordic countries and has positioned Europe as a "fourth pillar of growth".

TOKYO, July 17 (Reuters) - Shares in Seven & i 3382.T rose 3% in Tokyo on Friday as the Japanese retailer said it was in talks to buy a stake in Polish convenience store operator Zabka Group ZAB.WA.

The 7-Eleven owner is considering acquiring Zabka shares held by funds, with the investment likely to total several hundred billion yen (several billion dollars), Nikkei reported.

A deal would extend Seven & i's reach into Eastern Europe, beyond its strongholds in Japan and North America, as the retailer seeks to grow its business under CEO Stephen Dacus, who took the helm last year.

Seven has been struggling to improve its flagging business following a tussle with Canadian rival Alimentation Couche-Tard ATD.TO, which had sought to take it over in what would have been Japan's largest-ever foreign buyout.

The retailer has been under pressure from investors due to lacklustre returns and faced calls to focus on its core convenience store business. Last year it agreed to sell off its supermarkets business to private equity firm Bain Capital.