Japan's Sharp to sell stake in Pioneer: Nikkei

(REUTERS) - Japan's Sharp Corp has decided to sell its 9.2 per cent stake in car electronics maker Pioneer Corp, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Saturday.

Sharp has narrowed down the list of potential buyers, including car and medical device manufacturers, and could complete the sale as early as this month, the business daily said.

Sharp owns 30 million shares in Pioneer worth 6.3 billion yen (S$78.3 million) - making the electronics maker the largest shareholder in the company, the Nikkei said.

The two companies entered a capital and business partnership in 2007 to jointly develop a range of products including optical discs and automotive equipment. Pioneer will continue to own 10 million shares, or an 0.8 per cent stake, in Sharp, the Japanese daily said.

Both companies are expected to continue to partner on a smaller scale in such fields as optical discs.

Sharp is expected to use the proceeds of the sale to pay down debt, the Nikkei said.

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