KKR to buy Hitachi's power tools unit for $1.3 billion

TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co LP (KKR.N) said on Friday it has agreed to buy Hitachi Ltd's power tools unit, Hitachi Koki Co Ltd , for about $1.3 billion, its second billion-dollar deal in Japan in three months.

KKR will pay 1,450 yen for Hitachi Koki's stock, bringing the total deal size at 147.1 billion yen (1.05 billion pounds).

Hitachi Koki shares closed at 1,508 yen on Friday on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, valuing the company at 186 billion yen.

The deal would be KKR's second Japanese buyout since its $4.5 billion November acquisition of Calsonic Kansei Corp (7248.T), an autoparts maker backed by Nissan Motor Co Ltd .

KKR is taking advantage of a push by Japanese conglomerates to restructure businesses by shedding non-core operations.

The sale of Hitachi Koki to KKR would enable Hitachi to focus on its main business segments such as infrastructure.

KKR would launch a tender offer on Jan. 30. The offer price consists of 870 yen per share price for a tender offer and a special dividend of 580 yen per share.

KKR said it would buy Hitachi Koki from its $6 billion Asian Fund ll, which it completed in 2013. The buyout firm is now in the process of raising around $7 billion for its next fund, according to people familiar with the plans.

(Reporting by Junko Fujita, Chris Gallagher and Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Christopher Cushing)