U.S. buyout firm Bain Capital has agreed to sell a 49.9 percent stake in Japanese telemarketing firm Bellsystem24 Holdings to Tokyo-based trading house Itochu Corp, the involved parties said in separate statements without disclosing the value of the deal.

Bain Capital will retain a 50.1 percent stake in Bellsystem24, which it bought from Citigroup Inc in 2009 for about $1 billion.

The Nikkei business daily reported earlier on Tuesday that Itochu would put up about 30 billion yen ($294 million) initially and take out loans from its banks to make further payments to complete the purchase.

Bellsystem24, set up in 1982, employs about 20,000 operators at its 22 call centres nationwide. Itochu said it would make its telemarketing business as one of its core businesses after the acquisition of the stake in Bellsystem24.