Bain Capital, a global private investment firm, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation (MTPC) from Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corporation. The investment values the business at approximately $3.3 billion.

The Japanese chemical company has agreed to sell its pharmaceutical business to Bain Capital for more than $3 billion, in a bid to focus on its key businesses.

Following rumblings of a private equity bidding war late last year, Bain Capital has emer | Bain Capital is laying out 510 billion Japanese yen ($3.3 billion) to acquire Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma in a carve-out transaction from its parent Mitsubishi Chemical Group.

U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital has bought Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma in a deal worth 510 billion yen ($3.4 billion), saying it was encouraged by prospects of regulatory change for Japan's drug industry.

Bain Capital said the deal came about following several recent initiatives by the Japanese government and regulators to “accelerate the development and approval of innovative medicines in the Japanese market.

Private equity firm Bain Capital (BCSF) is paying $3.4 billion to buy a 350-year-old Japanese drugs group fighting diabetes and cancer with