7-Eleven Japan's parent company Seven & i Holdings is holding advanced discussions to acquire a stake in Polish convenience store chain Zabka Group, reported Nikkei Asia.
Established in 1998, Zabka runs a network of 10,000 franchised outlets across Poland, focusing on food offerings such as coffee and hot snacks.
Seven & i is looking to purchase a holding of several tens of percent in Zabka, buying from a mix of investment funds and existing shareholders.
The transaction is estimated to be valued at several hundred billion yen, translating to a sum in the hundreds of millions of dollars at a rate of Y100bn ($616m).
The move forms part of Seven & i's push to grow its convenience store operations abroad, with the Zabka stake intended to give it an entry point into the Eastern European market.
Zabka trades on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and posted revenue of 27.15bn zlotys ($7.16bn) for the year to December 2025.
Seven & i has been ramping up its international expansion in recent years and is targeting a rise in its total store count, spanning Japan and other markets, from 87,000 to 100,000 by the end of the decade.
At present, the group's presence is heavily weighted towards Japan and North America, with its European footprint limited to approximately 360 outlets across Nordic countries, including Denmark and Norway.
A stake in Zabka would substantially widen Seven & i's store network across Europe.
Should it proceed, the agreement would represent Seven & i's first significant investment in a convenience store business overseas in half a decade, setting aside its purchase of Convenience Group Holdings, the Australian operator running 7-Eleven-branded stores in that country.
Seven & i's last major overseas move of this scale came in 2021, when it acquired Speedway, a US chain combining convenience stores with fuel stations, in a $21bn deal.
Separately, Seven & i posted operating income of Y105bn for its first quarter, marking a 122.4% year-on-year increase on a like-for-like basis.
Net income attributable to owners of the parent rose 95.3% to Y60.6bn for the three months to 31 May 2026 while earnings per share climbed 118.4% to Y26.21.
