Already associated in a “strategic partnership”, the two Japanese groups will begin talks to come together under the leadership of a single holding company
Renault is in great form this morning. The title of the French automobile group jumped more than 6% at the opening of the Paris Stock Exchange on Wednesday, after the Japanese giant Honda indicated that it was exploring the possibility of a merger with its compatriot Nissan, of which Renault still holds more than 22 % of capital. Around 08:10 GMT, the action climbed 6.22% to 47.27 euros on the CAC 40 index. Japanese automobile giant Honda announced on Wednesday that it was exploring the possibility of a merger with its struggling compatriot Nissan, a rapprochement which could allow them to better compete with Tesla and their Chinese rivals in the electric sector. This merger could accelerate the unraveling of Nissan’s historic alliance with Renault, which has already been gradually reducing its presence in the Japanese group’s capital since last year.
After announcing the sale of a new block of shares representing around 5% of the Japanese manufacturer’s capital, Renault only owned 22.73% of Nissan’s capital at the end of September, compared to 40.42% in December 2023. “As announced in March and August, we are discussing possibilities for cooperation in many areas” and a merger “is among the possibilities”admitted a Honda spokesperson to AFP. The two groups “explore various possibilities for collaboration, to leverage their respective strengths”Nissan simply reacted.
Already associated in a “strategic partnership”Honda and Nissan will begin talks to unite under a single holding company and sign “Soon” a memorandum of understanding, according to the daily Nikkei. Nissan had opposed a merger with Renault, but a merger with Honda “could be considered more balanced and fair”explains Tatsuo Yoshida, analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, to AFP. For Nissan, he adds, “a merger would provide short-term respite” facing strong financial pressure: the group announced at the beginning of November that it was going to cut 9,000 positions in its global workforce and cut its production capacities in the face of the plunge in its sales, particularly in China in the face of competition from local brands on the ‘electric.
