TOKYO, March 28 (Reuters) - U.S.-based private equity

firm KKR and Japanese state-backed fund Japan Investment

Corp (JIC) will acquire medical gear maker Topcon ( TOPCF ) in a

tender offer buyout worth 348 billion yen ($2.31 billion), KKR

said on Friday.

Private equity deals in Japan have been booming as corporate

governance reforms and increasingly vocal activist shareholders

push more companies to go private and carve out non-core

business operations.

The tender offer price of 3,300 per share marks a 5.4%

premium on Topcon's ( TOPCF ) closing price of 3,130 yen on Friday and a

99.5% premium over the simple average closing price of Topcon's ( TOPCF )

stock for the 12 months up to December 9, 2024, KKR said.

($1 = 150.5200 yen)