By Jacqueline Bell

Law360, New York (October 28, 2009, 12:34 PM ET) -- Renesas Technology Corp. has reached a preliminary agreement to transfer its semiconductor manufacturing equipment business to Hitachi High-Technologies Corp.

The companies said that due diligence for the transfer was moving forward, and based on the outcome of that process, they were scheduled to sign a final contract in December.

Specific terms being discussed were not available Wednesday.

Renesas, a joint venture between Hitachi Ltd. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp., shares a common parent with Hitachi High-Technologies Corp., itself a subsidiary of Hitachi.

Currently, the two companies have...