MUMBAI, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Japan's JFE Steel Corp, a unit of JFE Holdings, is close to buying a minority stake in India's third-largest steelmaker, JSW Steel Ltd, two Indian papers reported on Thursday citing unnamed sources.
As part of the deal to be announced Thursday, JFE, the world's No. 6 steelmaker, was likely to supply technology to help the Indian firm make auto-grade steel, the DNA paper said.
JSW Steel officials could not be reached for comments.
JFE Steel has said it will hold a briefing on its overseas business at 0630 GMT in Tokyo.
On Wednesday, Japan's Nippon Steel Corp denied an Indian television report it was in talks to buy a 7-11 percent stake in JSW Steel for $300-$500 million. JSW Steel's group chief financial officer said he would not comment on market speculation.

(Reporting by Bharghavi Nagaraju; Editing by Ramya Venugopal and John Mair) (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com) Keywords: JSW JFE/STAKE (bharghavi.nagaraju@thomsonreuters.com; +91 22 6636 9059; Reuters Messaging: bharghavi.nagaraju.reuters.com@reuters.net)

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