Renault is considering selling part of its Nissan Motor . stake, a move that could raise billions of euros for its shift to electric vehicles and ease long-standing tensions with its alliance partner, people familiar with the matter said.
Nissan itself may be willing to buy some of the 1.83-billion shares in the Japanese automaker that Renault owns, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions aren’t public. Renault may also seek other buyers for a portion of its 43% stake in Nissan.
Spokespeople for Renault and Nissan declined to comment.
By paring a stake worth 983.5bn yen (roughly R118,933,215,410), Renault would be walking a fine line: trying to rebalance a 23-year-old alliance without unravelling it. A lopsided cross-shareholding structure — Nissan owns 15% of Renault and lacks voting rights — has been a pain point for factions of Nissan executives going back years.
A sale could help finance major structural change Renault CEO Luca de Meo began to sketch out in February. The company is considering a break-up and separate listing of its EV business. Its legacy business could then join forces with a partner.
One option would be China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, which controls Volvo , the people said. Renault reached a joint production deal with Geely earlier this year for a South Korean plant and the two have said they may also co-operate in China.
A representative for Geely declined to comment.
Russia Factor
De Meo, 54, was making strides turning Renault around before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine all but forced the company to begin exiting its second-largest market. The pullout will be costly: the carmaker said it will take a non-cash charge amounting to the 2.2bn euros (roughly R36,834,820,000) value of its assets in Russia, which include a manufacturing plant in Moscow. It’s also assessing options for its stake in Lada maker AvtoVaz and may try to transfer ownership to a local investor.
Negotiations to reshape the Renault-Nissan alliance — which haven’t been discussed publicly — could take many months, the people said.
Renault’s EV carve-out could include Nissan assets. Nissan also would be a partner in the French carmaker’s legacy hybrid and combustion-engine operations.
The two companies are working with one another on Renault’s structural overhaul, CFO Thierry Pieton told analysts on Friday.
“Nissan is in the loop,” Pieton said. “This is something we want to discuss with them.”
Nissan’s Fortunes
Nissan would be in a better position than a year ago to buy back its shares, should Renault decide to sell. The Yokohama, Japan-based company has 2 trillion yen (roughly R241,544,160,000) in cash and equivalents on hand, and fiscal year operating profit is on track to be positive for the first time since 2019.
Ashwani Gupta, Nissan’s COO, will travel to Paris next week for discussions with Renault de Meo before a broader meeting between Renault and Nissan’s executives in Tokyo next month.
Tension surrounding the asymmetrical nature of the companies’ ties almost destroyed the alliance after the 2018 arrest in Japan of former chairman Carlos Ghosn. The automakers have since focused on separate turnaround plans to get them past damage wrought by Ghosn’s ouster and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Negotiations aimed at rebalancing the Franco-Japanese alliance, which also includes Mitsubishi Motors, were held in 2019, but took a back seat to more urgent operational and management issues. They have been kept off the table until now.
‘Unbreakable’ Ties
Reducing Renault’s stake to 15%, the same level as Nissan’s ownership of Renault, could yield about 4.65bn euros (roughly R77,892,568,500) at current prices. It’s unlikely the Paris suburb-based automaker would sell the entire holding, as that would weaken the alliance.
The operating agreement governing the partnership, known as RAMA, may also have to be amended with a change in shareholding, some of the people said. The accord has long been a source of friction between the partners, as has the French state’s 15% holding in Renault, which comes with double voting rights.
The alliance outlined plans in January to strengthen operational ties and invest in electrification, potentially complicating any separation of Renault and Nissan’s EV businesses. Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard said then the companies’ closer links would be “totally unbreakable”.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
Renault exploring Nissan stake sale for EV shift
Image: Bloomberg
Renault is considering selling part of its Nissan Motor . stake, a move that could raise billions of euros for its shift to electric vehicles and ease long-standing tensions with its alliance partner, people familiar with the matter said.
Nissan itself may be willing to buy some of the 1.83-billion shares in the Japanese automaker that Renault owns, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions aren’t public. Renault may also seek other buyers for a portion of its 43% stake in Nissan.
Spokespeople for Renault and Nissan declined to comment.
By paring a stake worth 983.5bn yen (roughly R118,933,215,410), Renault would be walking a fine line: trying to rebalance a 23-year-old alliance without unravelling it. A lopsided cross-shareholding structure — Nissan owns 15% of Renault and lacks voting rights — has been a pain point for factions of Nissan executives going back years.
A sale could help finance major structural change Renault CEO Luca de Meo began to sketch out in February. The company is considering a break-up and separate listing of its EV business. Its legacy business could then join forces with a partner.
One option would be China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, which controls Volvo , the people said. Renault reached a joint production deal with Geely earlier this year for a South Korean plant and the two have said they may also co-operate in China.
A representative for Geely declined to comment.
Russia Factor
De Meo, 54, was making strides turning Renault around before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine all but forced the company to begin exiting its second-largest market. The pullout will be costly: the carmaker said it will take a non-cash charge amounting to the 2.2bn euros (roughly R36,834,820,000) value of its assets in Russia, which include a manufacturing plant in Moscow. It’s also assessing options for its stake in Lada maker AvtoVaz and may try to transfer ownership to a local investor.
Negotiations to reshape the Renault-Nissan alliance — which haven’t been discussed publicly — could take many months, the people said.
Renault’s EV carve-out could include Nissan assets. Nissan also would be a partner in the French carmaker’s legacy hybrid and combustion-engine operations.
The two companies are working with one another on Renault’s structural overhaul, CFO Thierry Pieton told analysts on Friday.
“Nissan is in the loop,” Pieton said. “This is something we want to discuss with them.”
Nissan’s Fortunes
Nissan would be in a better position than a year ago to buy back its shares, should Renault decide to sell. The Yokohama, Japan-based company has 2 trillion yen (roughly R241,544,160,000) in cash and equivalents on hand, and fiscal year operating profit is on track to be positive for the first time since 2019.
Ashwani Gupta, Nissan’s COO, will travel to Paris next week for discussions with Renault de Meo before a broader meeting between Renault and Nissan’s executives in Tokyo next month.
Tension surrounding the asymmetrical nature of the companies’ ties almost destroyed the alliance after the 2018 arrest in Japan of former chairman Carlos Ghosn. The automakers have since focused on separate turnaround plans to get them past damage wrought by Ghosn’s ouster and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Negotiations aimed at rebalancing the Franco-Japanese alliance, which also includes Mitsubishi Motors, were held in 2019, but took a back seat to more urgent operational and management issues. They have been kept off the table until now.
‘Unbreakable’ Ties
Reducing Renault’s stake to 15%, the same level as Nissan’s ownership of Renault, could yield about 4.65bn euros (roughly R77,892,568,500) at current prices. It’s unlikely the Paris suburb-based automaker would sell the entire holding, as that would weaken the alliance.
The operating agreement governing the partnership, known as RAMA, may also have to be amended with a change in shareholding, some of the people said. The accord has long been a source of friction between the partners, as has the French state’s 15% holding in Renault, which comes with double voting rights.
The alliance outlined plans in January to strengthen operational ties and invest in electrification, potentially complicating any separation of Renault and Nissan’s EV businesses. Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard said then the companies’ closer links would be “totally unbreakable”.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
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