Current:Home > NewsJapan’s Sogo & Seibu department stores are being sold to a US fund as 900 workers go on strike-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Japan’s Sogo & Seibu department stores are being sold to a US fund as 900 workers go on strike
View Date:2024-12-23 14:28:01
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese retailer Seven & i Holdings Co. is selling department store chain Sogo & Seibu Co. to a U.S. investment fund, even as the labor union went on strike ahead of the announcement Thursday.
The transfer to Fortress Investment Group will be completed Friday, according to Seven & i Holdings. The decision came at a board of directors meeting. The proposed sales price is 220 billion yen ($1.5 billion) but won’t be final until the transfer’s completion set for Friday.
Separately, some of Sogo & Seibu’s debts, or nearly 92 billion yen ($630 million), will be forgiven, the company said in a statement.
Some 900 striking employees were marching, holding signs and handing out leaflets on the streets near the main Seibu department store in Tokyo, where the shutters were closed.
Disorderly strikes and protests are rare in Japan, and the strikers apologized on camera in Japanese TV news reports, for any inconvenience they may be causing the public. Some train strikes have been largely symbolic because the trains still run, given that so many urban workers depend on public transport to get to and from work.
The Seibu deal was postponed since it was first announced in November because of such opposition.
“We deeply apologize to all stakeholders including customers, local people, business partners and employees for the worries and inconvenience caused by the strike conducted by the Sogo & Seibu Labor Union today. Sogo & Seibu will continue collective bargaining and discussions with the Sogo & Seibu Labor Union, and the Company will also continue to provide support and cooperate to an appropriate extent on such discussions,” Seven & i Holdings said in a statement.
Japanese media reports said Yodobashi Camera Co., an electronics chain related to Fortress, may set up in the department store locations.
The Seibu & Sogo retailers total 10 outlets nationwide. Although the demise of department stores has hit Japan far later than in some other nations, like the U.S., their clout has been waning with the advent of online shopping.
Seven & i Holdings also has under its wing the 7-11 convenience store chain, as well as Ito-Yokado, a grocery chain that remains relatively popular, and Loft, which sells stationery and home knickknacks.
The company said it will leverage its strength in convenience stores as well as food stores to reshape its business.
New York-based Fortress Investment Group LLC was founded in 1998 and manages about $44.7 billion of assets.
___
Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama
veryGood! (55)
Related
- Shawn Mendes Confesses He and Camila Cabello Are No Longer the Closest
- Chris Christie to visit Israel to meet with families of hostages held by Hamas
- Obesity drug Wegovy cut risk of serious heart problems by 20%, study finds
- Anchorage adds to record homeless death total as major winter storm drops more than 2 feet of snow
- NFL coaches diversity report 2024: Gains at head coach, setbacks at offensive coordinator
- How researchers, farmers and brewers want to safeguard beer against climate change
- Exclusive: Projected 2024 NBA draft top pick Ron Holland on why he went G League route
- Industrial robot crushes worker to death as he checks whether it was working properly
- Target will be closed on Thanksgiving: Here’s when stores open on Black Friday
- Oklahoma trooper tickets Native American citizen, sparking outrage from tribal leaders
Ranking
- Republican Gabe Evans ousts Democratic US Rep. Yadira Caraveo in Colorado
- 100 cruise passengers injured, some flung to the floor and holding on for dear life as ship hits fierce storm on way to U.K.
- Biden’s movable wall is criticized by environmentalists and those who want more border security
- RHOP's Karen Huger Reveals Health Scare in the Most Grand Dame Way Possible
- College football top five gets overhaul as Georgia, Miami both tumble in US LBM Coaches Poll
- Australia offers to help Tuvalu residents escape rising seas and other ravages of climate change
- Somber bugles and bells mark Armistice Day around the globe as wars drown out peace messages
- Are banks open today or on Veterans Day? Is the post office closed? Here's what to know.
Recommendation
-
Only 8 monkeys remain free after more than a week outside a South Carolina compound
-
Mexico’s ruling party faces a major test: Can it avoid falling apart without charismatic president?
-
The 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV Wins MotorTrend's SUV of the Year
-
Worried Chinese shoppers scrimp, dimming the appeal of a Singles’ Day shopping extravaganza
-
Horoscopes Today, November 12, 2024
-
Michigan man cleared of sexual assault after 35 years in prison
-
A UK judge decries the legal tactics used by a sick child’s parents as he refuses to let her die at home
-
Oklahoma trooper tickets Native American citizen, sparking outrage from tribal leaders
Like
- Justice Department says jail conditions in Georgia’s Fulton County violate detainee rights
- 100 cruise passengers injured, some flung to the floor and holding on for dear life as ship hits fierce storm on way to U.K.
- Yellen says her talks with Chinese finance chief laid groundwork for Biden’s meeting with Xi