Major South Korean credit card issuer Samsung Card Co. said Thursday it has decided to sell its entire 19.9 percent stake in Renault Samsung Motors Corp.

Samsung Card said it recently made the decision and selected Samsung Securities Co. as the lead manager of the stake sale.

The card issuer purchased the stake for 87.6 billion won ($74.8 million) in April 2000 in line with an agreement between Samsung Group and French automaker Renault S.A. on the sale of Samsung's car unit.

In a semiannual report, Samsung Card estimated the value of its interest in the South Korea unit of Renault at 249.2 billion won.

A Samsung Card official said it is still early to talk about potential buyers as the lead manager has just started to search for candidates.

The planned stake sale comes as Samsung Electronics Co. and Samsung C&T Corp. decided not to extend a deal with Renault on the use of "the Samsung brand," which ends in August. Both sides instead agreed to delay the contract by two more years.

Renault holds a controlling 81 percent stake in Renault Samsung.

Samsung Card is the credit card arm of Samsung Group, South Korea's top family-controlled conglomerate that also has smartphone and memory chip giant Samsung Electronics Co. under its wing. (Yonhap)