Major property and casualty insurance group Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Holdings Inc. plans to acquire the elderly nursing care unit of pub and restaurant chain operator Watami Co. for about ¥21 billion, industry sources said Thursday.

The insurance group is expected to buy all outstanding shares in Tokyo-based Watami no Kaigo Co., possibly within the year, in a bid to enhance its nursing care business, which is expected to grow as the nation's population ages.

As part of efforts to increase profits from noninsurance businesses, Sompo Japan has already invested in other nursing care companies, including Message Co., based in Okayama Prefecture.

The unit, which operates nursing homes and other care facilities, was put up for sale by Watami to improve its earnings and concentrate its resources on the pub and restaurant business in a reversal of its diversification strategy.