Renault sells stake in Nissan Diesel to J.P. Morgan

PARIS - French auto maker Renault said Tuesday it had sold its 17.88 percent stake in Japanese heavy truck maker Nissan Diesel to J.P. Morgan Securities, which disposed of them on the open market.
Renault said it sold 43.6 million shares. It did not disclose the value of the sale.
On the basis of Nissan Diesel's closing share price of 551 yen Tuesday in Tokyo, the sale was worth 24.02 billion yen (172.56 million euros, 228.60 million dollars).
Renault said the sale came after the "successful restructuring" of Nissan Diesel, and reflected the non-strategic nature of the holding.
Nissan Diesel is the fourth-biggest Japanese maker of heavy trucks, with sales of 453 billin yen in its 2003-2004 business year.

03/08/2005 11:11 GMT