US private equity firm Bain Capital plans to buy Japanese advertising agency Asatsu-DK Inc. in a deal that could be worth $1.2 billion or more, a person familiar with the transaction said on Monday.
Bain will launch a tender offer soon for as many shares of Asatsu-DK as possible, the person said, asking not to be identified because he is not in a position to speak to media.
The Nikkei business daily, which reported the buyout earlier on Monday, said Bain would pay about 150 billion yen ($1.33 billion) for the Japanese company.
Asatsu-DK spokeswoman Kaori Nakajima said the report was not something the company had announced.
Asatsu-DK closed at 3,180 yen on Monday, which gives the firm a value of 132 billion yen.
A consortium led by Bain Capital signed an $18 billion deal last week to buy Toshiba Corp’s chip unit.