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Toyota other Japanese firms to propose Renesas rescue: Nikkei

US-RENESAS-TOYOTA:Toyota other Japanese firms to propose Renesas rescue: Nikkei

TOKYO (Reuters) - A rescue of Renesas Electronics is being organised by a consortium of local companies led by Toyota Motor Corp, with the backing of a state-run fund, to counter a bid for the Japanese chipmaker by private equity firm KKR, the Nikkei business daily reported on Saturday.

The group wants to invest 100 billion yen ($1.3 billion) in Renesas to acquire a majority stake in the company before the end of the year, the Nikkei said, without providing further details on how it obtained the information.

The group, it said, included the government's Innovation Network Corp, Panasonic Corp, Nissan Motor Co Honda Motor Co, Canon Inc, Fanuc Corp and auto parts makers Denso Corp and Keihin Corp.

KKR is also in talks to invest around 100 billion yen in Renesas, which would be its largest investment in Japan, sources last month told Reuters. That deal would give KKR more than 50 percent of cash-strapped Renesas, and could speed the pace of its restructuring in the face of sinking prices and aggressive overseas rivals.

It would be among the top 10 biggest private equity investments into the world's third largest economy

The competing deal from the Japanese group, which may invite German industrial group Bosch GmbH to join it, would be presented to Renesas shareholders, NEC Corp, Hitachi Ltd and Mitsubishi Electric Corp next month, the Nikkei said.

Renesas, the world's leading manufacturer of microcontroller chips used in cars, is laying off 12 percent of its workforce and plans to sell or consolidate half of its domestic plants.

($1 = 78.1600 Japanese yen)

(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Ron Popeski)

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