Struggling retailer Daiei Inc. will try to seal a deal, possibly by the end of the month, to sell the Daiei Hawks professional baseball club to Internet service provider Softbank Corp., sources said Tuesday.

Daiei has apparently obtained approval on the sale from U.S. investment fund Colony Capital LLC, which owns the Fukuoka Dome, the team's home stadium, and the rights to hold the Hawks' games, the sources said.

Daiei and Softbank will begin talks this week seeking to conclude the deal by the end of November in time for the start of next year's season, the sources said. A change in ownership would have to get the endorsement of owners of the other teams by Nov. 30 before playing next season.

Daiei sold the Fukuoka Dome and an adjacent hotel to Colony in March in a bid to curtail its huge interest-bearing debts. Currently, the retailer holds 98 percent of the Hawks' shares but wants to reduce its stake to around 20 percent by selling part of the shareholdings to Softbank, the sources said.

Daiei hopes to retain a stake in the Hawks because it believes ownership of a baseball team can be a major sales promotion tool in its retail business, the sources said.

In October, Daiei turned to the Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan for rehabilitation.

Later in the month, Softbank officially declared its intent to acquire the Daiei Hawks, a Pacific League team, from Daiei.

IRCJ, which is now assessing Daiei's assets, is expected to seek an explanation from Daiei on the latest move as the sale of a baseball team would be a significant change in the firm's business operations.