Lawson Inc. and Mitsubishi Corp., soon to become the convenience store chain's largest shareholder, said Thursday they plan to offer a range of financial services via automatic teller machines to be installed in Lawson's nationwide network.
They said they plan to link Lawson's 7,500 stores with a network of computer terminals and ATMs and to set up a company to oversee the network by fall.
Lawson and Mitsubishi also plan to build a new distribution network using Mitsubishi's knowhow and to reduce Lawson's dependence on the group, which is led by Daiei Inc., currently its main shareholder, they said.
Mitsubishi is to raise its stake in Lawson to 27.9 percent on Tuesday by buying 9.1 million Lawson shares from the Daiei group for 36 billion yen. It purchased a 20 percent stake last February.
The new purchase, equivalent to a 7.9 percent stake, will reduce the Daiei group's stake in the convenience store operator to 27.2 percent.
Mitsubishi Managing Director Yorihiko Kojima said Thursday that the trading house will consider raising its stake further.
Lawson is hoping its alliance with Mitsubishi will help it fend off competition from Seven-Eleven Japan Co., Japan's biggest convenience store operator, industry officials said.
Lawson also wants to distance itself from Daiei, which is struggling under the weight of huge interest-bearing debts, the officials said.
Last February, Mitsubishi paid 170 billion yen for its present 20 percent stake, or 7,400 yen per share, almost double the price it agreed to pay in acquiring the extra 7.9 percent stake.
Since Lawson shares ended Thursday trading at 3,810 yen, Mitsubishi has incurred unrealized capital losses of between 70 billion yen and 80 billion yen on its Lawson shareholding.