Renault Not Interested in Giving up Nissan, Says CEO

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

With the Renault-Nissan partnership looking about as healthy as the bird you clipped on the highway last week, there has been some speculation that the Alliance might disband. At the very least, we know that Nissan has wanted Renault to diminish some of its authority and finally allow the Japanese brand to make a few decisions for itself.

While it’s being kept relatively quiet, Renault and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles are currently seeking ways to rescue their failed merger plan and receive Nissan’s blessing. But Nissan has been stonewalling the $35-billion deal by denying support. It’s not the most cunning strategy we’ve encountered, but totally effective in befuddling the French government to a point where it wanted to delay things — prompting FCA to back out.

Reuters is now claiming that Nissan plans on using round two of the merger talks to convince Renault to reduce its 43.4-percent stake in the company. But the French automaker’s CEO, Thierry Bolloré, says there’s no way that’s happening.

“This is not at all our agenda,” Bolloré explained to reporters in New Delhi when asked if Renault would reduce its stake in Nissan to procure a deal with FCA. “For us it is so important that we continuously improve our alliance. Not only for now, but also for the future and this is the mindset which we are in, and these are the discussions we have with our partners.”

Bolloré stated that there have been no new offers from Fiat Chrysler and declined to comment on the French government’s role within merger talks.

[Image: Jevanto Productions/Shutterstock]

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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  • Conundrum Conundrum on Jun 20, 2019

    I don't get Nissan's idea of expecting Renault to back down on ownership percentage. I've been through two changes of ownership in companies I worked for. Nobody liked the changes, but what you gonna do? Squawking and screeching and going to the owners or majority owners and telling them to back off and let the people run the company the way they used to, and BTW how about reducing your ownership percentage is an illogical and indeed stupid argument. Nissan was bankrupt. Renault bought a big slice, installed Ghosn, and saved them. Nissan became much bigger than Renault after Ghosn showed them how idiotically they were running the outfit and made them profitable. Nissan chafed at having someone else "run" them merely because they were now bigger than the majority owner. The owner told them to "try" the other one. Does Warren Buffet reduce his high part ownership of Heinz because their management chafes at his way of running things? That's just one man and his minions operating a vulture outfit, and Heinz has to suck it up no matter how they feel about things Nissan has to suck it up as well. Too bad Saikawa, you're owned. Now be a good little boy and get on with your work, or you're fired.

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    • Lorenzo Lorenzo on Jun 22, 2019

      Warren Buffet runs Heinz? He just has a major investment in the company, he doesn't actually run it. Renault has a big enough chunk of Nissan that it effectively runs the company, through the alliance. If Nissan wants out of the alliance, it has to marshall the other owners to drop the alliance, but Renault will still have enough stock to have a presence on the governing board. Any move that requires more than a majority vote gives the minority the power of 'no'. Nissan used it on the FCA merger, Renault can use it to keep Nissan locked in the alliance. In these here parts, that's a Mexican standoff. Now they have to find the corporate equivalent of simultaneously backing away slowly.

  • Dukeisduke Dukeisduke on Jun 21, 2019

    So, no FCA deal.

  • Sgeffe Sgeffe on Jun 22, 2019

    So the first Alliance didn’t work, and the Encore doesn’t look much better! :-D Can’t help it!

  • Michael S6 Michael S6 on Jun 23, 2019

    Nissan wants to be free of Renault as this alliance generates very little benefit for Nissan. Meanwhile Renault desperately needs Nissan to survive and thus would not sell it's Nissan controlling stock. Hence the marriage from hell.

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