Last month Roland DG announced that its board of directors were in favour of a tender offer by XYZ KK, which would result in a management buyout of the business.

However, fellow Japanese manufacturer Brother Industries has now lodged an offer to buy all of the common shares in Roland DG Corporation at an offer price of ¥5,200 (£27) per share, which is ¥165 higher than the XYZ KK offer.

Roland DG operates in the digital printing, dental, medical and 3D fabrication markets.

Brother’s business areas include printing and labelling, garment printing, industrial sewing machines and gears.

Brother is a much bigger group, with sales of more than ¥815bn, while Roland DG had turnover of ¥54bn in its most recent financial year. Both companies are listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Brother acquired UK inkjet printing specialist Domino Printing Sciences in 2015 in a £1bn deal.

Roland DG said that it had not received any prior communication from Brother regarding its takeover bid announcement and it had not been approved by the board.

Roland DG’s board said it would now review and analyse the Brother proposal before making an official response.

Both firms are exhibiting at this week's Fespa Global Print Expo in Amsterdam.