Apollo Global Management is considering taking a substantial stake in a bid by Seven & I’s founding Ito family to take the convenience store operator private, people familiar with the matter said.

The U.S. private equity giant is discussing a commitment of as much as ¥1.5 trillion ($9.5 billion) for an equity stake in the plan, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information isn’t public.

Under the current proposal, which is subject to change, Apollo would join the Ito family and Itochu, the operator of FamilyMart in Japan, as key investors. The Ito family is weighing a commitment of around ¥500 billion and Itochu of over ¥1 trillion. Other partners are still negotiating stakes.