TOKYO, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Japan's Fuji Soft

said on Thursday that KKR now owns nearly 58% of the

company after the second stage of a tender offer, ending a

fierce battle with rival Bain Capital to take the software

developer private.

The two private equity powerhouses had engaged in a

protracted bidding war for Fuji Soft. KKR's two-stage tender

offer values the company at roughly $4.1 billion, according to

Reuters calculations.

The saga also saw a rare hostile takeover attempt from Bain

and KKR threaten legal action against Bain.

Bain said on Monday that it would withdraw its takeover

proposal but it was only on Thursday that it became clear that

KKR had gained a stake of more than 53.2% - the minimum needed

to squeeze out other investors.

KKR said in a separate statement on Thursday that an

extraordinary general meeting on a squeeze-out was scheduled for

late April.

The battle over Fuji Soft, a systems integration company

which also has valuable real estate assets, highlights how Japan

has become a hotbed of dealmaking. Global funds are increasingly

seeking out Japanese investment targets viewed as having poor

corporate governance or underutilised assets that could be

reformed to increase shareholder value.

KKR first launched its bid in August last year but Bain

countered higher in October and had the backing of Fuji Soft's

founder, Hiroshi Nozawa.

Nevertheless, Fuji Soft's board supported KKR over Bain,

prompting Bain to attempt a hostile bid in December and ramp up

its criticism of the board.

After Bain refused to accede to the board's demand that it

dispose of the confidential information it had compiled in the

due diligence for its bid, KKR asked Fuji Soft to take legal

action against Bain.

Bain did not formally launch a tender offer, saying it was

conditional first on attaining Fuji Soft's support, and later,

after the board came out in opposition to their bid, on KKR's

bid failing.

KKR said the company saw revenue hit a record high of 317.5

billion yen and operating income came in at 22 billion yen in

the fiscal year ended in December. Both were gains of about 6%.