Nissan, Renault in talks to merge as one company
03-29-18, 02:28 PM
#1
Nissan, Renault in talks to merge as one company
Nissan and Renault have been tied together as an alliance for nearly 20 years, but now the Japanese and French automakers are discussing whether to merge. Bloomberg, citing unidentified sources familiar with the confidential talks, reports that the idea is to form a larger, single publicly traded company to better compete against giants like Toyota and Volkswagen.
It would also mark the end of the alliance that first began in 1999 and also includes Mitsubishi, in which Nissan
acquired a controlling interest in 2016. A full merger would help the companies pool resources to develop electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles and car-sharing services. It would involve Nissan giving Renault shareholders stock in the new company, with Nissan shareholders also gaining shares in the new company, Bloombergreports. The new company would be run by Carlos Ghosn, the current chairman of both companies.
But any such merger, as you might expect, would be complicated, in part by geopolitics. The French government owns a 15-percent stake in Renault, and both the French and Japanese governments might be reluctant to let go of their respective home-grown brands. Currently, Renault owns a 43-percent stake in Nissan, while Nissan owns 15 percent of its French partner. Reuters reported recently that Ghosn proposed buying most of the French government's stake in Renault as part of plans for a closer tie-up.
The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance already has been working to establish a $200 million mobility tech fund to invest in startups, a reflection of how seismic changes in the auto industry have left many legacy companies scrambling to stay current. Nissan in 2016 paid a reported $2.3 billion to acquire 34 percent of Mitsubishi in order to share platforms, technology, manufacturing and other resources.
It would also mark the end of the alliance that first began in 1999 and also includes Mitsubishi, in which Nissan
acquired a controlling interest in 2016. A full merger would help the companies pool resources to develop electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles and car-sharing services. It would involve Nissan giving Renault shareholders stock in the new company, with Nissan shareholders also gaining shares in the new company, Bloombergreports. The new company would be run by Carlos Ghosn, the current chairman of both companies.
But any such merger, as you might expect, would be complicated, in part by geopolitics. The French government owns a 15-percent stake in Renault, and both the French and Japanese governments might be reluctant to let go of their respective home-grown brands. Currently, Renault owns a 43-percent stake in Nissan, while Nissan owns 15 percent of its French partner. Reuters reported recently that Ghosn proposed buying most of the French government's stake in Renault as part of plans for a closer tie-up.
The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance already has been working to establish a $200 million mobility tech fund to invest in startups, a reflection of how seismic changes in the auto industry have left many legacy companies scrambling to stay current. Nissan in 2016 paid a reported $2.3 billion to acquire 34 percent of Mitsubishi in order to share platforms, technology, manufacturing and other resources.
03-29-18, 09:54 PM
#5
If this happens, its IMO bad news for PSA. PSA is the company that makes Peugeot, Citroen, DS, Vauxhall and Opel. They just recently acquired Vauxhall and Opel from GM a year or so ago.
This will be a huge 500lb gorilla of a company that already has a pretty firm hold in almost every corner of the globe, 3rd world Asia, Europe, USA, Mexico, South America, China, Africa. Still though, this could be nothing, as these companies have pretty much operated as partners for the past 20 years, if not as one whole company.
Still not sure what to make of the merger, except that it will suck for PSA over in Europe, as they bought a car company(Opel/Vauxhall) that hasn't earned a profit in 20 years. Renault, a huge presence in Europe, just became a lot stronger IMO merging with Nissan.
This will be a huge 500lb gorilla of a company that already has a pretty firm hold in almost every corner of the globe, 3rd world Asia, Europe, USA, Mexico, South America, China, Africa. Still though, this could be nothing, as these companies have pretty much operated as partners for the past 20 years, if not as one whole company.
Still not sure what to make of the merger, except that it will suck for PSA over in Europe, as they bought a car company(Opel/Vauxhall) that hasn't earned a profit in 20 years. Renault, a huge presence in Europe, just became a lot stronger IMO merging with Nissan.
04-01-18, 02:54 PM
#7
Lexus Fanatic
Though my strong guess is that it won't happen, I'd personally like to see just the oppsite......Nissan split off completely from Renault and become an independent Nissan again. They made some nice products in the 80s and 90s (one of my favorites was the 1Gen early-90s Altima), before Ghosn started all the cost-cutting....although Nissan had also started some cost-cutting of their own before Renault took over.
Last edited by mmarshall; 04-01-18 at 02:59 PM.
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04-01-18, 03:49 PM
#8
Though my strong guess is that it won't happen, I'd personally like to see just the oppsite......Nissan split off completely from Renault and become an independent Nissan again. They made some nice products in the 80s and 90s (one of my favorites was the 1Gen early-90s Altima), before Ghosn started all the cost-cutting....although Nissan had also started some cost-cutting of their own before Renault took over.
04-01-18, 04:21 PM
#9
Lexus Fanatic
Nissan would not have survived without Ghosn coming in. They were on the verge of failing with huge losses year after year. I am glad Ghosn came in because he was behind the idea of continuing the GTR resulting in the R35. Without Ghosn, the R35 would not have become a reality.
04-01-18, 04:53 PM
#10
Nissan would not have survived without Ghosn coming in. They were on the verge of failing with huge losses year after year. I am glad Ghosn came in because he was behind the idea of continuing the GTR resulting in the R35. Without Ghosn, the R35 would not have become a reality.
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