June 20 (Bloomberg) -- Bain Capital Partners LLC agreed to buy D&M Holdings Inc., the Japanese audio-equipment maker, for about 47.6 billion yen ($441 million).

Bain, the U.S. investment fund, agreed to buy D&M shares at 510 yen each, D&M said in a statement via PRNewswire today. The offer is 8.5 percent higher than D&M's closing price on the Tokyo Stock Exchange yesterday.

Under the agreement, Boston-based Bain will buy all of RHJ International's 45.3 million shares and acquire the rest through a tender offer that will start as late as July 25, according to the statement. Bain subsequently plans to delist the maker of Denon and Marantz brands of audio equipment, the statement said.

The purchase will add to Bain's portfolio of Asian holdings, which include shares in Japanese telecommunications-gear wholesaler Suntelephone Co. and Malaysian circuit-board maker Smartag Solutions Sdn Bhd.

D&M rose 6.8 percent to 501 yen at the midday break on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The stock has gained 7.3 percent this year, compared with the 8.6 percent drop by the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average.

D&M has expanded its presence overseas with acquisitions of audio equipment makers in the U.S., U.K. and the Netherlands over the past three years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In 2005, D&M paid $66 million for Boston Acoustics Inc., the maker of Snell-brand speakers and supplier of audio systems for Chrysler cars, and in April bought British Allen&Heath Holdings Inc., which makes mixing gear for music professionals.

To contact the reporter on this story: Pavel Alpeyev in Tokyo at palpeyev@bloomberg.net; Mari Murayama in Tokyo at mmurayama@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 19, 2008 23:36 EDT