U.S. private equity firm KKR has sweetened its offer for Japan's Fuji Soft by 4%, the latest salvo in its protracted and messy bidding war with Bain Capital for the $4 billion IT firm. The saga underscores an increasingly competitive dealmaking environment in Japan,

The U.S. investment company bought a more than one-third stake in Fuji Soft in November and has said it is best positioned to work with the company to take it private.

U.S. private equity firm KKR will raise its offer price for Japanese IT company Fuji Soft by more than 4% to take it above a rival offer from Bain Capital, it said on Tuesday. It is the latest salvo in a protracted bidding war that began in August last year,

KKR & Co. raised its offer price for Fuji Soft Inc. to fend off a rival bid from Bain Capital, the latest chapter in a months-long battle for the Japanese software company.