Informed sources said that Japanese investment company SoftBank and its electronic payment services subsidiary are studying buying a stake in Seven & i Holdings.

Bloomberg News quoted the sources as saying that Seven & i Holdings, operator of the 7-Eleven chain, may issue new shares for sale to be bought by SoftBank and its subsidiary PayPay Corp for electronic payment services.

The credit card unit of Japanese banking group Mitsui Financial Group is also studying participating in this deal.

The deal, if completed, would unite two of the largest payment services companies in Japan with the operator of the country's top retail chain, which would help these companies face competing payment company alliances.

According to the sources, SoftBank, PayPay, and Sumitomo Mitsui are negotiating to sign an alliance agreement during the current summer, noting that negotiations are ongoing and there is a possibility that no final agreement will be reached.

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