Grainger to acquire Japanese tool seller

W.W. Grainger Inc., a U.S. supplier of heavy equipment and tools, announced Friday that it plans to become a 53 percent majority owner of Japanese tool seller MonotaRO.

Lake Forest-based Grainger expects to invest approximately $4 million through a tender offer bid process later this summer.

Established in 2000 in Osaka, MonotaRO started as a joint venture company between Grainger and Sumitomo Corp. supplying MRO products in Japan. MonotaRO has innovated in the Japanese MRO market, the second largest industrial market in the world, offering more than 110,000 products to more than 320,000 customers. In 2008, MonotaRO had revenues of $136 million and operating earnings of $11 million.

"We are excited about the opportunity to increase our ownership of MonotaRO. The Japanese MRO market is estimated at $50 billion and MonotaRO has been growing by helping thousands of small and mid-size businesses get the quality products they need to keep their facilities running," said Grainger's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Ryan.

"This increased investment, along with our recent acquisition of Asia Pacific Brands India Private Limited demonstrates Grainger's commitment to grow its global presence. Our global supply chain scale and strong supplier relationships developed throughout Asia enable us to deliver what customers need. We plan to continue to pursue attractive opportunities in global markets."

MonotaRO is traded on the Mothers market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Daily Herald business writer Kim Mikus contributed to this report.