Australia's largest convenience and fuel retailer, with more than 700 stores, said the board of 7-Eleven Holdings had commenced a process to sell the business. The process was at an early stage and was expected to take a number of months, it said in a statement on its website.
Australia's 7-Eleven Stores, which is licensed by U.S.-based 7-Eleven Inc, is owned by the Withers and Barlow families. In 1976, they? signed the area licence agreement to bring the?7-Eleven brand to Australia, opening the first store in Oakleigh, Victoria in 1977. "The company has made significant progress in recent years on a number of fronts and is performing well under a highly credentialed management team, with an exciting outlook for growth," Russell Withers said, commenting on behalf of 7-Eleven’s shareholders. "As such, the Withers and Barlow families have decided that the time is right to review options for the future ownership of the business with a view to setting it up for future growth and success," he said. (Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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