NAGOYA (Kyodo) Department store chain Matsuzakaya Co. said Tuesday it is buying back 4.23 million of its own shares, or about 2.47 percent of the company's outstanding stock, for some 3.1 billion yen through a tender offer that ended the previous day.

The Murakami fund, which owned a 7.05 percent stake in the retailer as of July 27, may have sold some shares to Matsuzakaya, but it may also have sold shares on the open market, financial sources said.

Matsuzakaya said in a statement it received 20 sale offers from shareholders. The names of the sellers were not disclosed.