Renesas Gains Second Day on Report It May Get $1.3 Billion Loans

Renesas Electronics Corp. (6723) surged for a second day in Tokyo trading after the Nikkei newspaper said the chipmaker may get 100 billion yen ($1.3 billion) in loans from its major shareholders and lenders.

The world’s biggest maker of microcontrollers for cars rose 7.9 percent to 341 yen, the highest intraday level since May 11, as of 10:14 a.m. on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, after climbing 15 percent yesterday. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average was little changed.

Renesas also plans to cut as many as 14,000 jobs and close or sell half of its 19 domestic plants as part of the company’s revival, the report said. NEC Corp. (6701), Hitachi Ltd. (6501) and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. (6503), its three biggest shareholders, are in final talks to provide 50 billion yen in loans to the chipmaker, the Nikkei newspaper reported today, without saying where it got the information. The Mainichi newspaper reported yesterday the shareholders would provide loan guarantees for that amount.

Four lenders including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (8306) and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. (8411) will use a commitment line to provide another 50 billion yen in loans to Renesas, the Nikkei report said.

The shareholders and banks may reach agreement on the aid as early as next week, the newspaper said.

Formed in Mergers

Renesas spokesman Yoichi Kobayashi, Hitachi spokesman Hirotaka Ohno and NEC spokesman Takehiko Kato declined to comment on the Nikkei report. Mitsubishi Electric also declined to comment through a spokesman, who declined to be named, citing company policy.

Renesas was formed in 2010 after the merger of money-losing chipmakers Renesas Technology Corp., a venture between Hitachi and Mitsubishi Electric, and NEC Electronics Corp. The new company has lost money every year since.

The chipmaker’s semiconductors are used in products from automobiles to consumer electronics for tasks including triggering air bags in cars and controlling DVD players. The company’s customers include Apple Inc. and Sony Corp., according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

To contact the reporter on this story: Naoko Fujimura in Tokyo at nfujimura@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Tighe at mtighe4@bloomberg.net

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Renesas Gains Second Day on Report It May Get $1.3 Billion Loans

Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg

Renesas plans to cut as many as 14,000 jobs and close or sell half of its 19 domestic plants as part of the company’s revival, the report said.

Renesas plans to cut as many as 14,000 jobs and close or sell half of its 19 domestic plants as part of the company’s revival, the report said. Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg