10:34 AM EST, 11/15/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Adds new details throughout, including results from first tender offer in third paragraph)

KKR (KKR) on Friday said it expects to begin a second tender offer for Tokyo-listed Fuji Soft "as soon as the middle of next week" after board members at the Japanese robotics technology company unanimously recommended shareholders accept a sweetened takeover by the US-based private-equity firm.

KKR earlier Friday increased its offer for Fuji Soft by 7.4% over its original bid to 9,451 yen ($60.84) per share, topping a rival bid for the company by Bain Capital by 1 yen.

The backing by the Fuji Soft board for KKR's offer followed KKR buying more than 21.4 million shares at its original price of 8,800 yen per share, becoming Fuji Soft's largest individual shareholder with roughly 34% of its voting stock. KKR said Friday it also acquired options equal to another 718,600 shares on a fully converted basis during its first tender offer.

The higher offer to 9,451 yen represents a 125.8% premium over Fuji Soft's average share price over the 12 months prior to KKR's original bid in early October, it said.

Price: 150.01, Change: -0.51, Percent Change: -0.34