New Delhi, April 24 :     The Escorts board today approved the divestment of 24 per cent equity in Escorts Yamaha Motors (EYML) to Yamaha Motor Corporation for Rs 200 crore. Escorts and Yamaha Motors held 50 per cent each in the joint venture. The sale of equity will give Yamaha Motor Corporation management control of the company, which manufactures motorcycles for the domestic market and exports. The Japanese company will seek the Foreign Investment Promotion Board's approval on Friday to hike its stake to 74 per cent by investing Rs 200 crore in the company. The transfer of equity is expected to be completed by the end of next month. The agreement between the two partners includes a clause which gives Escorts the first right of refusal if Yamaha decides to offload its stake in future. Following the decision, the current board of directors is likely resign and a new board will be constituted with greater participation from Yamaha. These decisions will be taken at a follow-up board meeting to be held in Japan soon, a company official said. 'We have always believed that business relationships are driven by value-additions by partners. It will be more appropriate for Yamaha Motor as the technology provider to assume the leading role in the business. With the change in management, the company will grow at a faster rate in the coming years and move towards improving its market-share,' Escorts group chairman Rajan Nanda said here. The joint venture will bring in new technology and offer a wide range of cost-effective quality products that can gain a competitive edge over rivals in terms of price. It will have the added benefit of enlarging its scale of operations for manufacturing and supplying products worldwide, Nanda said. Escorts will continue to provide a strong base for manufacturing facilities, a countrywide dealership network and skilled manpower. Motorcycles business was a division of Escorts before it was spun off into a separate company and a collaboration signed with Yamaha Motors. The move comes at a time when there is a perceptible shift in the two-wheeler market from scooters to motorcycles. Motorcycle sales registered a sales growth of 28.8 per cent between April 1999 and February 2000 with sales of 15.91 lakh units as against 12.35 lakh units in the year-ago period.