Honda
Correction Updates Renault’s price And please read that Renault holds “more than 35%” of Nissan, and not “more than 22%” as previously indicated
Paris (awp/afp) – The title of the French automobile group Renault 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 , in which Renault still holds more than a third of the capital.
Around 1:20 p.m. GMT, the stock 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 merger that 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.
Renault still owns 17% of Nissan directly and 18.6% via a trust, for a total of more than 35%.
“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 “are exploring various possibilities for collaboration, to leverage their respective strengths,” Nissan simply responded.
Already associated in a “strategic partnership”, Honda and Nissan will begin talks to come together under the leadership of a single holding company and will “soon” sign 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 equitable”, Tatsuo Yoshida, analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, told AFP.
For Nissan, he adds, “a merger would provide short-term respite” from strong financial pressure: the group announced in early November that it would cut 9,000 positions from its global workforce and cut its production capacities. faced with the plunge in its sales, particularly in China in the face of competition from local electric brands.
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