May 1 (Reuters) - Alimentation Couche-Tard ( ANCTF )

and Japan's Seven & i ( SVNDF ) said they have signed a

non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that will give the Canadian

company access to the Japanese retailer's financial data as it

seeks an acquisition.

The move represents progress in takeover talks for

Couche-Tard, which operates the Circle-K convenience stores in

Canada and the United States and has been trying to acquire

Seven & i ( SVNDF ) since August.

The detailed terms of the agreement will remain

confidential, Seven & i ( SVNDF ) said in a statement on Thursday. The

agreement also includes a "standstill" clause, which protects

target companies from hostile takeovers.

Paul Yonamine, who chairs Seven & i's ( SVNDF ) independent special

committee to examine bids, said in the statement, "The execution

of the NDA is a positive step in the constructive engagement

process with ACT."

Seven & i ( SVNDF ) shares were up 2.7% in early trade in Tokyo on

Thursday.

(Reporting by Urvi Dugar in Bengaluru, Mariko Katsumura and

Kaori Kaneko in Tokyo; Editing by Alan Barona, Sonali Paul and

Muralikumar Anantharaman)