PARIS, July 28 (Reuters) - French auto maker Renault said on Monday it signed a deal to buy 38 percent of state-owned Moroccan car assembler SOMACA from the government.
The announcement came alongside a move by the French government to cut its holding in Renault to 15 percent, raising about 1.3 billion euros.
Renault said it would acquire a 26 percent stake in SOMACA at the end of September and obtain the remaining 12 percent by the end of October 2005.
Its unit in Morocco already owns 8 percent of SOMACA, bringing Renault's stake to 46 percent, it said. A newspaper in Morocco put the price at around nine million euros.
The Moroccan entity's other main stock holders were Italy's Fiat Auto and fellow French car manufacturer Peugeot with 20 percent apiece, as well as private investors who held about 14 percent.
Renault sold 4,135 cars in Morocco in the first half of this year, up nearly 10 percent from the same period last year.