French car manufacturer Renault will reduce its stake in Japan to 15% nissana cut that will equalize the holding of cross shares between both partners and is part of the restructuring of their alliance, they confirmed today in a joint statement.
Under the agreement, which aims to end the friction of recent years, the French firm will lower its stake in Nissan to 15% from the current 43%thus equating the percentage of Renault shares that is in the hands of the Japanese manufacturer, a readjustment that the Japanese firm had been asking for some time to balance the alliance.
The principle of agreement, which also involves negotiations in other areas of cooperation such as the production of electric vehicles or the strengthening of its businesses in Europe, India and Latin America, must be approved by the boards of directors of Renault, nissan Y Mitsubishi Motorsalso integrated into the alliance.
“Balanced governance”, the commitment of the firms with the new agreement
Although there is no official date, it is assumed that the boards of directors of the three partners must approve it this week so that it can be presented and announced on Monday, February 6.
Beyond the stated ambition to “strengthen alliance ties and maximize value creation” for its members, the heart of the commitment is “balanced governance” which also means that Renault and Nissan will have 15% voting rights. in the capital of the other.
This means a change for Nissan, since until now it could not exercise that right to vote in Renault, but above all for the French group, that he will lose it or be “neutralized” for 28.4% of the Japanese shareswhich are to be transferred to a trust with a view to their sale.
Renault will retain the economic rightssuch as dividends, in those trust titles for which no obligation has been established for an assignment term.
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In any case, they are not going to be sold quickly because, taking into account the current market situation, they would give rise to a loss in value and it is most probable that the sale, when it occurs, will be carried out little by little, avoiding the takeover of Nissan by another outside group.
Add agreements and investments to boost business worldwide
In addition to restructuring their shares, Renault and Nissan have reached an agreement to strengthen their collaboration in the development of their businesses in Europe, Latin America and India on three levels: markets, vehicles and technologies.
Awaiting details, It is about, among other things, that each of the three partners can use the plants that the others have in those regions to manufacture their vehicles and develop their range in a more coordinated way.
On the other hand, Nissan will invest in AmpereRenault’s new electric vehicle division, “with the aim of becoming a strategic shareholder”, although its percentage has not yet been decided, among other things because the diamond group has not yet established its valuation.
Ampere It will be established in the second half of this year and will bring together, above all, the electric platform that Renault -which will be the majority shareholder- concentrates in its plants in the north of France with 10,000 employees and an initial production capacity of 400,000 vehicles per year, which must pass to a million by 2031.
The Japanese vehicle manufacturer described these agreements as “an important milestone” for “the definition of the new foundations” of its association with the French firm, and said that they are the result of “several months of constructive talks.”
Stocks fall after new deal
The shares of the Yokohama-based Japanese firm ended the day on the Tokyo Stock Exchange 0.68% lower, after the local media advanced the agreement, which was made public at the close of the market there.
For its part, Renault suffered a serious decline since the opening of the Paris Stock Exchange, which reached 4% shortly after the start of trading on the French market.
Shares in the diamond group were down 2.91% at 10:45 a.m. local time and were by far the most declining stock on the Paris Stock Exchange’s CAC-40 index at that time.
Nissan and Renault forged their alliance in 1999 with an initial investment by the French company of about 4,000 million dollars in the Japanesethen plunged into financial difficulties.
The former president of both firms Carlos Ghosn was one of the main architects of the alliance and since he left the reins at the end of 2018 following his arrest in Japan for alleged tax irregularities, Renault and Nissan have discussed new cooperation formulas, without agreement until now.
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