UPDATE 1-Ford asks Denso to buy part of Mazda stake-Nikkei

(Changes dateline, adds company comment, details)

TOKYO, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) has asked Japanese auto parts supplier Denso Corp (6902.T) to buy part of its stake in Mazda Motor Corp (7261.T), the Nikkei business daily reported on Thursday.

Denso, the world's largest listed auto parts maker and a core supplier of Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) group, is likely to consider the request because it wants to expand business with business with Mazda, the Nikkei said.

The number of shares that Denso would buy and the price has not yet been negotiated, but Denso was likely to acquire less than 1 percent of Mazda's stock from Ford, the paper said.

Mazda's market value is around 380 billion yen ($3.8 billion) and the purchase of a 1 percent stake would cost about 3.8 billion yen.

Ford and Mazda both declined to comment on the report.

A Denso spokeswoman said no decision warranting disclosure had been made.

Ford has a 33.4 percent stake in Mazda. A person familiar with the matter said over the weekend that Ford was considering selling some of its stake in Mazda as it struggles with weakening sales and a global credit crunch.

The Nikkei reported that Ford had approached between 20 and 30 prospective buyers for its shares in Mazda.

Trading houses Sumitomo Corp (8053.T) and Itochu Corp (8001.T) have expressed interest, the newspaper said.

Mazda may also buy back some of its own shares, it said.

Mazda's shares were down 4.6 percent at 272 yen, outperforming a 9.8 percent fall in the benchmark Nikkei average .N225. Denso shares were 8.9 percent lower at 1,818 yen.