Konica Minolta to buy Danka U.S. unit

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Konica Minolta Holdings Inc (4902.T) said on Wednesday it would buy a U.S. unit of office imaging equipment supplier Danka Business Systems DNK.L for around $240 million (122 million pounds).

The office equipment maker is looking to boost its production and distribution worldwide and also recently agreed with Dutch firm Oce NV (OCEN.AS) to jointly develop and market office-use printers and production print systems.

Konica Minolta said the purchase of Danka Office Imaging would help it increase its U.S. customer base while expanding its range of services and support capabilities.

In the financial year ended March 2007, Danka Office Imaging generated about $450 million in sales.

Konica Minolta's shares were trading up 0.7 percent at 1,513 yen as of 0021 GMT (1:21 a.m. British Time.)

(Reporting by Mariko Katsumura)