NORTH west furniture and beds retailer has agreed a takeover by its main shareholder and saviour in a deal which values the Warrington-based firm at up to é326.4m. South African furniture group which has a 61 per cent stake in Homestyle, is offering a cash or shares alternative to investors for the remainder of the business. It will pay 100p in cash, or 0.736 of its own shares, for each Homestyle share. Steinhoff, which owns the Relyon brand and has several factories in the UK, made its move after regulators threatened to de-list Homestyle because less than 25 per cent of its shares were in public hands. The é2.8bn-turnover group, which is quoted on the , rescued Homestyle in 2005 with a é100m refinancing deal, when it took a majority stake. The lifeline was brokered by Homestyle finance director Tim Kowalski. He said today the takeover offer was a good deal for shareholders, and said no job losses among the group's workforce of 3,300 were envisaged. Homestyle operates 170 furniture stores and almost 400 bed shops trading as and . It turned over é507m in the 61 weeks to July 1 and posted pre-tax losses of é25m. In a trading update last month, Homestyle said Harveys was still finding the retail climate tough while the rejuvenated beds division was back on course for expansion under a new management team. Homestyle is in the throes of a recovery programme and chairman Donald Macpherson said: "While progress is being made in improving many areas of our business, restoring acceptable levels of performance across the group is a long-term project and we believe profitability will be restored more rapidly under the ownership structure proposed by Steinhoff." Steinhoff is seeking to grow its business in the UK and experts do not rule out the group making further acquisitions in the sector, then returning to the stock market here in a few years' time. The takeover deal is expected to be completed in mid-February. Kevin.feddy@men-news.co.uk Tweet