By Anton Bridge

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Seven & i will be looking to convince shareholders it can deliver long-term growth on its own when it speaks to them on Thursday, after announcing a sweeping break-up plan designed to ward off a $47 billion takeover offer.

The 7-Eleven owner is due to hold an "investor day" briefing with analysts and investors and will take questions on its global and domestic convenience store businesses.

Seven & i is fighting to stay independent after Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard announced a preliminary bid in August. The owner of Circle-K convenience stores has since hiked its offer by 22% to around $47 billion, sources have said. If it goes through, the deal would be the largest-ever overseas buyout of a Japanese firm.

While the Japanese 7-Eleven convenience stores are a money-spinner, Seven & i has been hobbled by poor performance at its supermarkets, including Ito Yokado stores which are a crucial part of the holding company it formed decades ago. Some foreign shareholders have long called for a break-up of the business.

Seven & i has said it is "confident" it can unlock shareholder value itself. Under the restructuring announced this month, it aims to split off the supermarket operation and some 30 other "non-core" units into a holding company. Market reception so far has been underwhelming, with shares moving little since Seven & i detailed its plan.

One investor, U.S. fund Artisan Partners, has said the plan is "too little, too late" and has urged Seven & i to engage with Couche-Tard.

"The Couche-Tard offer amplifies the fact that investors may want to be able to cash out of their 7-Eleven shares now instead of banking on an uncertain time frame to see value surface," said Lorraine Tan, director of equity research for Asia at Morningstar.

"While 7-Eleven's plan to spin-off non-core businesses is helpful, this initial step doesn't move the needle much."

Tan said she would be watching to see how 7-Eleven plans to lower its so-called "SGA" expenses, those related to selling, general and administrative parts of the business. That is particularly a focus point for its U.S. operation, she said.

While 7-Eleven stores are highly profitable in Japan, that's not true overseas. In Japan, the operating margin is 27%, far above the 3.5% of 7-Eleven stores elsewhere.

Of 7-Eleven's 85,000 stores worldwide, some 21,000 are in Japan, most of them franchises. Although originally an import before the Japanese company bought out the U.S. firm, 7-Eleven stores have become something of a cultural touchstone in Japan, known for a ready supply of fresh food and everything from toothpaste to socks.