Private equity firms are showing strong interest in buying about 2,000 North American convenience stores that could be divested if Alimentation Couche-Tard succeeds in its ¥7.39 trillion ($49 billion) endeavor to buy out Seven & I Holdings, the chief financial officer of the Canadian company said.

"We are putting in front of these private equity funds a network of 2,000 stores with a national presence, very strong footprint in some of the states,” Filipe Da Silva said in an interview, adding that it would be the fifth- or sixth-largest operator in the U.S. "The level of interest is really high.”

After being rebuffed for more than half a year, Couche-Tard, the parent company of the Circle K brand, agreed with Seven & I to seek a buyer for overlapping retail outlets as a prerequisite for takeover talks. The process is aimed at making sure that any deal won’t fall apart because of U.S. antitrust concerns.