TOKYO - The board of Japan's Fuji Soft has decided to stick with a 558.4 billion yen ($3.72 billion) buyout offer from KKR, the Nikkei newspaper said on Friday, despite having received a higher counter-offer from Bain.

The board is expected to announce its opinion on Bain's bid at a later date, the Nikkei said.

The Yokohama-based IT company has become the focus of a tug-of-war between KKR and Bain, two of the giants of global private equity, both of which have been active in Japan for some years.

A Fuji Soft spokesperson declined to comment. Spokespeople for KKR and Bain were not immediately available for comment.

Fuji Soft's board in August came out in support of the KKR bid. KKR also secured the backing of major shareholders 3D Investment Partners (3DIP) and Farallon Capital, which together hold 32.7% of Fuji Soft's shares.

A month later, Bain announced a counter offer that was 7% higher. Last week, it confirmed the offer was binding, contingent upon gaining the company's approval.

Fuji Soft's founder, Hiroshi Nozawa, on Thursday came out in favour of Bain's bid, which he said was in the interest of shareholders.

Nozawa and his family members together hold 18.5% of Fuji Soft's shares.

KKR has offered 8,800 yen per share for company, while Bain has offered 9,450.

($1 = 150.0600 yen)

(Reporting by Anton Bridge; editing by David Evans, David Dolan and Shri Navaratnam)