The negotiations “accelerate” between Renault and Nissan concerning the restructuring of their alliance with the planned refocusing on the electric of the French manufacturer, but many points still remain to be settled, according to a source close to the file questioned Monday by the AFP.
Several media outlets this weekend reported that Renault could reduce its share in Nissan to 15% from the current 43%.
In return, the Japanese manufacturer, which itself currently holds 15% of Renault, would invest in “Ampère”, the future electric entity of its French partner.
Renault and Nissan confirmed Monday in a joint statement “discussions” on “several initiatives” to “strengthen cooperation”, mentioning the possibility of an “agreement on several joint strategic initiatives”.
Renault’s share price jumped by more than 6% at the opening of the Paris Stock Exchange, to more than 32 euros, in a slightly falling market.
According to the statement, Nissan “plans to invest in Renault’s new entity” dedicated to electric mobility and the two companies “continue to make progress on structural improvements” to the alliance in terms of “operations and governance.”
“Nissan will invest in Ampere, that’s for sure” and will become the “second largest shareholder” after Renault, a source close to the matter in Japan confirmed to AFP.
But it is still too early to quantify this investment, as well as the extent of the decline in Renault’s stake in Nissan, said the same source.
This partial disengagement of Renault in Nissan should have a “deferred execution” and be carried out in stages to avoid massive depreciation of the French manufacturer. Because currently the value of Nissan shares is “well below their value recorded in the accounts of Renault”.
In addition, Nissan “will not invest” in “Horse”, the thermal division of Renault, which would keep only 35% and would give the rest to the Chinese manufacturer Geely and the Saudi oil group Aramco, again according to the same source.
But “Horse” is the subject of “very technical” discussions between Renault and Nissan, because many of the innovations in this area were developed jointly by the two groups and the Japanese manufacturer wants to “get a fair return for its intellectual property”.
The rebalancing of the Alliance also necessarily implies a reform of its governance, and the place given to its third member, Mitsubishi Motors, also remains to be clarified.
New Alliance projects are also expected to be added, focusing on specific geographic areas and market segments, according to the source interviewed by AFP.
All of these topics are closely related and must therefore be addressed together. Negotiations between Renault and Nissan, which have been going on for months, have been “accelerating since the end of August” and should intensify further by November.
Renault, whose CEO Luca de Meo is currently in Japan, is due to present an “update” on its strategy in Paris on November 8. But the concrete consequences on the Alliance should be announced later by the three manufacturers, not before “mid-November”, according to the same source.
