Softbank said that buying the team based in Fukuoka, western Japan, was "aimed at promoting content for its broadband Internet businesses and enhancing advertising."

Under the deal, Softbank will buy a 98 percent-stake in the Hawks, a three-time Pacific League champion, from Daiei for five billion yenmillion dollars).

Softbank said it would separately pay 15 billion yen to buy the exclusive ticketing and merchandizing rights from Hawks Town, owned by other investors.

Daiei, which is seeking a government-led bailout, has already sold the Fukuoka Dome stadium, home to the Daiei Hawks, and hotel and other leisure facilities in Fukuoka to raise cash.

The restructuring of Daiei, saddled with debts of nearly 10 billion dollars, is also key to improving the financial health of its creditors, including Japan's fourth-largest banking group UFJ Holdings.

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