One of Russia's leading cardealers, Incom-Auto, will sell 30 percent of its share capitalto raise money to refinance its debt as the credit crunch chokesoff access to cash, its financial chief said on Monday.



'This (sale) is being carried out in order to raise capitalduring these hard times,' Incom-Auto's director of financeSergei Solovyov told Reuters, adding that the deal could beworth $70-100 million.



Car dealers have been among the hardest hit by the financialcrisis, which has led banks to stop lending to them as well asto their clients.



Solovyov said that Inkom-Auto must refinance $40 million inloans by the end of this year, part of which it hopes will comefrom the share sale.



'Refinancing right now is a very difficult task foreveryone,' he added.



The private chain of dealerships, one of the three largestin Russia, specialises in the sale of Russian and Chinese-madecars and is controlled by its president, Dmitry Kozlovsky.



Solovyov declined to name the buyer of the stake, sayingthat the company was in talks with several potential investors.