U.S. investment firm Colony Capital LLC has offered a higher bid for struggling retailer Daiei Inc.'s businesses in Fukuoka than that of a U.S. rival, informed sources said Friday.
Daiei is expected to review the two bids and decide which one to pick by the end of this month after consulting with the state-backed Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan, the sources said.
Earlier in the day, Colony Capital and the consortium of investment fund Ripplewood Holdings LLC and brokerage Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. submitted their respective bids to Daiwa Securities SMBC Co., which acts as financial adviser for the Daiei deal.
The sources said both sides presented three different business plans, and Colony Capital outbid the Ripplewood-Lehman team in all three.
Under its plan, Colony Capital would take over 60 billion yen of 120 billion yen in bank debts, put up 20 billion yen in capital for Daiei's Fukuoka businesses and build new facilities to attract more consumers, according to the sources.
As for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks professional baseball club, Colony Capital would allow Daiei to keep the club until the end of next year's baseball season, they said.