Soft drink maker Pokka Corp. said Monday it plans to turn itself into an unlisted company through a management buyout so it can implement longer-term strategies for raising its corporate value.

Investment firm Advantage Partners Inc. will finance the move by having its wholly owned Advantage Holdings Inc. carry out a public offer in an attempt to acquire 66.7 percent of Pokka shares, the Nagoya-based drink maker said. The takeover bid will run Tuesday to Sept. 20.

If the Advantage Partners' arm completes the takeover bid successfully, Pokka's current management will invest Advantage Holdings to participate in its operations.

Advantage Holdings eventually plans to turn the drink maker into a wholly owned subsidiary. The Tokyo-based investment firm has no plan to keep Pokka as a publicly traded company.

The offer price of 690 yen per share represents a roughly 24 percent premium over the average share price for the past one month on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Pokka said.

The buyout costs are estimated at about 17 billion yen.

Pokka -- listed on the first sections of the TSE and the Nagoya Stock Exchange -- said its management agreed to the buyout plan Monday.

Pokka said its management will keep running the beverage business.