TOKYO, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Japan's Seven & i Holdings ( SVNDF )

, operator of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, has

picked Bain Capital as its preferred buyer for a stake of its

non-core assets, local media reported on Saturday.

Bain has been competing against rival private equity firm

KKR and local buyout firm Japan Industrial Partners in

bidding since late last year for a major stake in York Holdings,

an entity that the retailer plans to spin off.

Bain is believed to have offered a valuation of more than

700 billion yen ($4.7 billion) for York Holdings, the Nikkei

newspaper and Jiji news agency reported. Nikkei cited a person

it did not name, while Jiji did not specify where it received

the information.

Seven & i ( SVNDF ), KKR and Japan Industrial Partners could not be

immediately reached for comment on Saturday, while Bain said it

could not comment.

The retailer has sought to separate non-core businesses that

include its supermarket operations into York Holdings. The unit

will house 31 subsidiaries including the group's superstores

business, baby goods store Akachan Honpo and the company that

operates Denny's restaurants in Japan.

($1 = 149.2900 yen)