March 19 (Reuters) - Potential buyers of Japan's Seven &

i ( SVNDF ) and Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard's ( ANCTF )

U.S. stores have until the end of March to express

their interest and address antitrust concerns, Bloomberg News

reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Some potential buyers are engaged in the process, and

have signed non-disclosure agreements, Bloomberg News reported.

ACT, which operates the Circle-K convenience stores in

Canada and the United States, has been trying to acquire the

beleaguered Seven & i ( SVNDF ) since August, with the Canadian company

ready to bolster its most recent buyout offer of $47 billion.

However, the deal has been wrapped up in anti-trust

concerns, with Seven & i ( SVNDF ) opposing the takeover bid saying U.S.

anti-trust law would be a barrier to any deal.

The companies are the top two players in the U.S.

convenience store market, with about 20,000 locations between

them.

It was not immediately clear how many stores apiece the two

companies were divesting.

ACT did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for

comment. Seven & i ( SVNDF ) was not immediately available for comment.

Any initial expression of interest will need to protect

competition in the U.S. market, the Bloomberg report said,

citing people familiar with the matter.

Earlier this month, Seven & i ( SVNDF ), which has been the target of

investor criticism over its capital allocation for years, said

that talks had kicked off with ACT over a store sale plan that

would set the stage for the takeover bid.

Separately, ACT said it was in exploratory talks with third

parties about the potential sale of its U.S. stores to help it

gain regulatory approval.