Fujitsu to sell mobile phone unit to Japanese investment fund - Nikkei

(Reuters) - Fujitsu Ltd is planning to sell a majority stake in its mobile phone business to Japanese investment fund Polaris Capital Group for 40 billion yen to 50 billion yen ($365.6 million-$457.0 million), the Nikkei newspaper reported on Friday.

An official agreement is expected to be inked by the end of the month, the paper said without citing sources, adding that retaining the mobile division's staff and factories will likely be a condition of the deal. The firm is also expected to continue operating its mainstay Arrows brand under Polaris.

Fujitsu and Polaris could not be reached for comment outside business hours.

Fujitsu, which seeking to focus on its core information technology services business, has been facing stiff competition from larger rivals in the mobile phones market, and had flagged plans to offload the business in August last year, Nikkei had said.

($1 = 109.4100 Japanese yen)

(Reporting by Rushil Dutta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)