KKR to invest $1.27 billion in Japan's Renesas: Nikkei

(Reuters) - U.S. private equity giant KKR & Co LP plans to invest 100 billion yen ($1.27 billion) in struggling Japanese chipmaker Renesas Electronics Corp by next month, the Nikkei reported.

KKR will buy new shares of Renesas - the world's fifth-largest chipmaker - through a private placement, the business daily said.

The investment fund has put forth a proposal to Renesas' main banks and its top three shareholders - NEC Corp, Hitachi Ltd and Mitsubishi Electric Corp, the paper said.

Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric and NEC, which together own 90 percent of Renesas, agreed on Tuesday to provide 49.5 billion yen in financial support, while banks have promised an additional 50 billion-yen loan.

Renesas earlier this month forecast a record annual net loss of 150 billion yen as it fights for survival in the face of sinking prices and aggressive overseas rivals.

($1 = 78.5000 Japanese yen)

(Reporting by Mridhula Raghavan in Bangalore; Editing by Maju Samuel)