Japanese home furnishings retailer Nitori Holdings Co. said Thursday it will launch a rival takeover bid in mid-November to make do-it-yourself and hardware stores operator Shimachu Co. a wholly owned subsidiary, triggering a fierce acquisition battle with its main competitor.

Nitori set its bid price at 5,500 yen ($53) per share, surpassing the 4,200 yen per share that its rival DCM Holdings Co., a Tokyo-based operator of DIY store chains, is paying in a tender offer through Nov. 16 worth up to 163.6 billion yen.

Nitori plans to spend a total of 214.3 billion yen on the takeover bid. On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Shimachu shares closed Thursday's session at 5,060 yen.

Domestic retail firms have been struggling to expand amid Japan's rapidly aging population, intensifying cross-industry competition among home furnishings retailers, hardware stores and drugstores.

But Nitori, which is based in Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido and is known for its affordable products, has been growing steadily, posting a double-digit rise in sales and profits in the first half of its current business year through next February.

The coronavirus pandemic has helped boost its sales as customers spend more time at home.

Operating about 560 stores across Japan and around 70 overseas as of August, Nitori seeks to expand its operations in Tokyo and surrounding prefectures by acquiring Shimachu to achieve its target of 3,000 outlets in total and 3 trillion yen in revenue. Shimachu, which is based in Saitama, north of Tokyo, has around 60 stores.

For DCM, a successful acquisition of Shimachu will make it the biggest DIY store operator in the country with annual sales of around 500 billion yen, surpassing the current leader Cainz Co.

==Kyodo

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