Bain to buy Japan's largest smartphone retailer for $980m

TOKYO -- Bain Capital announced on Monday that it will acquire Japan's largest cellphone sales agent, T-Gaia, purchasing the stakes of major shareholders Sumitomo Corp. and Tokyo-based Hikari Tsushin.

The U.S. private equity group's total purchase price in taking the retailer private is expected to exceed 140 billion yen ($980 million).