Mars Inc., a leading U.S. maker of automated payment systems for vending machines, will buy all the shares of Nippon Conlux Co., a major Japanese producer of coin mechanisms and note validators, through a tender offer from Tuesday to March 13, company officials said Monday.

The purchase of Nippon Conlux, to be made through Mars' Japanese subsidiary, MF Holdings Y.K., is expected to come to around 26.5 billion yen.

Nippon Conlux said it has agreed to the offer and that it believes both companies can cooperate in expanding their businesses.

By placing Nippon Conlux under its wing, Mars hopes to advance into the Japanese market for note validators where demand is expected to be strong due to the large number of vending machines in Japan.

No mergers or management integration is planned after the purchase, and Mars intends to urge Nippon Conlux to devise business strategies for Japan, Mars officials said.

MF Holdings is scheduled to buy 37.41 million shares at 710 yen per share.

When all Nippon Conlux shares are purchased, the company will be delisted from the first sections of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Osaka Securities Exchange in line with delisting standards.

Mars, a privately owned company based in Virginia, has operations in snack foods, pet foods, candies including M&Ms and other food products, in addition to electronic automated payment systems.