KKR offers to buy controlling stake in Japanese chip maker Renesas: report
29 Aug 2012
US private-equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) has offered to buy a controlling stake of over 50 per cent in struggling Japanese chip maker Renesas Electronics Corp, the Nikkei newspaper yesterday reported, without disclosing its source.
The New York-listed PE firm has held talks with Renesas' 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.
NEC holds a 33.97 per cent stake in Renesas, while Hitachi holds 30.62 per cent and Mitsubishi Electric 25.05 per cent.
Under the proposed deal, KKR & Co would buy new shares of Renesas through a private placement, according to the report.
The move comes six months after Japan's only DRAM chip maker Elpida Memory, reeling under 448 billion yen ($5.55 billion) debt, filed for bankruptcy protection. (See: Japan's only DRAM chip maker Elpida files for bankruptcy)
Renesas is one of the world's largest manufacturers of semiconductor systems for mobile phones and automotive applications.
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