Consortium led by a Japan’s Innovation Network planning to buy chipmaker Renesas for$2.55 bn

A consortium of about 11 companies led by a Japan's state-backed fund Innovation Network Corp of Japan (INCJ) is planning to buy struggling chipmaker Renesas Electronics Corp for around 200 billion yen ($2.55 billion), the Nikkei business daily yesterday reported.

The consortium of Japanese companies that include Canon Inc , Denso Corp, Honda Motor Co, Nikon Corp, Nissan Motor Co, Panasonic Corp , Toyota Motor Corp and Yaskawa Electric Corp , are expected to invest a total of nearly 50 billion yen, while Tokyo-based INCJ – a public-private partnership between the Japanese government and 19 major corporations, will invest 150 billion yen for buying two-thirds of Renesas, a deal that is likely to be agreed next month, the report said.

The consortium is now negotiating individual investment and stake holding.

In August, US private-equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) was planning to buy a controlling stake of over 50 per cent in Renesas and has been in talks with the chipmaker's three major shareholders, NEC Corp, Hitachi Ltd and Mitsubishi Electric Corp, about investing around 100 billion yen ($1.3 billion) by the end of the year.

But KKR may withdraw from the talks in light of the Japanese government-led fund showing interest in the chipmaker.

Renesas is one of the world's largest manufacturers of semiconductor systems for mobile phones and automotive applications. It is also the world's largest manufacturer of microcontrollers and the second largest manufacturer of application processors.