Japan’s Seven & i said Thursday that its board is splitting its convenience and superstore businesses and spinning the latter off into a separate public company called York Holdings. It’s also mulling changing its name to 7-Eleven Corp. (The Logic)

Talking point: The Tokyo-based firm has floated the idea of taking its superstore business public in the past, but there is fresh urgency after Quebec-based rival Couche-Tard made its own US$47.2-billion offer to Seven & i’s shareholders this week. Seven & i rejected Couche-Tard’s previous acquisition offer of US$38.6 billion in September, calling it undervalued. But after reporting a 35 per cent fall in net income on Thursday, Seven & i’s market capitalization fell to about US$40.5 billion. Seven & i said that its plan to spin off York Holdings would allow 7-Eleven’s management to focus on convenience stores and unlock potential shareholder value.