PARIS / TOKYO – Renault and Nissan said on Monday they were discussing the future of their allianceincluding that the Japanese automaker is considering investing in a tram joint venture of the French partner.
Talks, could push for biggest reset in union since longtime arrest in 2018 executive Carlos Ghosnincluded a review of Renault’s sale of some shares of Nissan, two people with knowledge of them said.
Negotiations are expected to continue ahead of the Renault investor presentation in early November, when the French carmaker is expected to give an update on its new EV unit, codenamed “Ampere”.
Renault owns about 43% of Nissan, including 15% of its longtime partner. The French state also has a 15% stake in Renault.
Shares of Renault jumped as much as 6% in early trading, making it the best performer on France’s benchmark CAC-40 equity index. They were up 3.54% by 1105 GMT.
Renault and Nissan said in a joint statement that they had “engaged in credible discussions on a number of initiatives” including a potential Nissan investment in an electric vehicle joint venture and what they called “structural improvements” in their union.
Renault CEO Luca De Meo, who was in Japan over the weekend, and Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida have been at the center of discussions about reshaping its terms, a person familiar with the matter said. with the negotiations said.
A group of Nissan executives, including CEO Ashwani Gupta, have also been involved in developing discussions in recent months, the person said.
Renault is looking to acquire Nissan as an investor in its new electric vehicle venture, which it is setting up alongside a separate internal combustion engine unit, essentially splitting off the higher-growth portion and need to invest more in their auto business.
In exchange for investing in the electric vehicle venture, Nissan is looking for Renault to reduce its stake in the Japanese carmaker, a person familiar with the negotiations said.
Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that French dominance in the alliance has long been a point of contention for Nissan, which wants Renault to cut its stake to 15% to balance its holdings. himself at Renault.
For Nissan, the talks could be an opportunity to re-establish a structure that many executives at the Japanese company see as unbalanced, given the way vehicles are developed between the two automakers. has progressed in recent years.
Nissan may consider raising capital to buy back the shares held by Renault, one person told Reuters.
Renault and Nissan declined to comment beyond their statements.
Seiji Sugiura, a senior analyst at Tokai Research Institute Tokyo, said he did not expect Nissan to have difficulty funding an acquisition on that scale.
“My own prediction is that Japanese investors – aged 60 to 40 – want Nissan to operate more as a separate company, or at least with a lower stake,” said Sugiura. “If they’re going to do this, now might be the best time.”
The source said any sale of a stake in Nissan to bring Renault’s holdings to 15% – at current market value of $3.8 billion – would not affect the continued partnership. theirs, the source said.
The source added that Nissan may need to raise capital to buy back shares from Renault.
The source said Mitsubishi, another partner in the alliance, is also considering buying a percentage stake in Renault’s EV unit.
At the beginning of the year, Nissan and Renault detailed plans to invest $26 billion over the next five years in tram evolution.
Nissan is about to launch the intersection of AriyaIts first EV since pioneer leaf, in the US market in the coming weeks. Nissan said its launch was delayed by about a year because of a semiconductor shortage.
Reporting by Tassilo Hummel, Gilles Guillaume, Satoshi Sugiyama and David Dolan, written by Silvia Aloisi; Edited by Barbara Lewis, Robert Birsel
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