Renesas Shareholders Approve 150 Billion Yen State-Led Stake

Renesas Electronics Corp. (6723) shareholders approved a plan to sell a 150 billion yen ($1.6 billion) stake to investors led by a Japanese state-backed fund.

The chipmaker’s plan to sell new shares to the fund, Innovation Network Corp. of Japan, and companies including Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) and Nissan Motor Co., was approved at an extraordinary shareholders meeting today in Kawasaki City, near Tokyo.

Renesas, 91 percent owned by NEC Corp., Hitachi Ltd. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp., plans to sell the stake by Sept. 30 and use the proceeds to promote restructuring, boost financial strength and develop more advanced microcontrollers used in cars and televisions. The supplier to Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Nintendo Co. widened its net loss forecast on Feb. 8 because of lower-than- expected orders and charges to write down assets.

The chipmaker last month announced plans to shed more than 3,000 workers following the removal of about 7,500 positions through a buyout program in October. In total, job losses amount to about 25 percent of the workforce. The company also said last month it will sell three factories to J-Devices Corp.

To contact the reporters on this story: Takashi Amano in Tokyo at Tamano6@bloomberg.net; Naoko Fujimura in Tokyo at nfujimura@bloomberg.net

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