Seven & i Holdings drops out of Speedway race

The Japanese retailer has dropped plans to acquire the large U.S. network due to a high price and market instability.

Global retailing giant Seven & i Holdings will not pursue the acquisition of the Speedway gas station chain in the U.S. for some $22 billion, reports Bloomberg.

Speedway, a division of U.S. petroleum refiner Marathon Petroleum, operates around 4,000 gas station and convenience stores in the U.S.

According to sources quoted by Bloomberg, the effect of the Coronavirus in having on the global economy was one of the deciding factors in avoiding such a huge operation for Seven & i Holding.

Company officials also indicated that the price for Speedway was too high.

Seven & i has the goal of operating 20,000 convenience stores in the United States.