The Japanese car manufacturer in difficulty Nissan has decided to end negotiations on a merger project with its more robust Honda compatriot, said Japanese financial daily on Wednesday, February 5, on Wednesday, February 5, the Japanese financial daily Nikkeiinformation that led to a collapse of the Title Nissan on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Honda, Japanese giant in the sector, and Nissan, its rival in serious financial difficulties, had opened these discussions in December for a merger that could give birth in 2026 to the third world manufacturer. The then outlined perspective was to bring together the two groups in a single holding company, with a single upright on the stock market. Details were expected in February.
A subsidiary rather than a merger?
But several Japanese media reported on Tuesday that Honda finally planned to acquire Nissan’s actions to transform it into a simple subsidiary. An unacceptable scenario for Nissan, anxious to preserve his autonomy and who preferred to interrupt discussions, the financial daily reported Wednesday Nikkei.
“The two companies had discussed a holding company, but could not agree on conditions such as the integration ratio,” said the Nikkei. “Honda (then) approached Nissan with a proposal aimed at making it a subsidiary: Nissan decided to end the negotiations, due to a strong opposition within the company,” he added.
Nissan collapses on the stock market
The publication of this information shook the markets: in the middle of the afternoon, the Nissan action dropped by 4.86 %, before the stock market operator suspended exchanges on the title pending a ” Confirmation “press information. Conversely, around 7:00 am French time, the Honda title leapped by 12 %, before finishing up 8.18 %.
“This article is not based on information provided by Nissan. We plan to finalize (our position) by mid-February, we will make an announcement at that time,” said Nissan. The group will publish its quarterly results on February 13. Contacted earlier, Honda had not wanted to react.
The proposal for a transformation into a subsidiary makes the fusion “almost impossible” because such a scenario cannot satisfy shareholders of any of the two parties, said on a daily basis Yomiuriunder cover of anonymity, a Nissan official.
Providential rapprochement
The objective of the project was to associate the forces of Honda and Nissan to negotiate the strategic turn of the electric, a niche dominated by the American Tesla and the Chinese manufacturers, byd in mind, and where the Japanese groups are very in delay.
This rapprochement was perceived as providential for Nissan: strongly in debt, he had suffered an unexpected loss on July-September and his operational margin had almost melted. In its two key markets, its sales have plunged: in the United States, failing to market rechargeable hybrids in the face of high demand, and in China, due to the domination of local brands over the all-electrical. Under pressure, he announced to suppress 9,000 positions in his global workforce and cut into his capacities.
“It is not a question of helping” in Nissan, had however underlined before the press in December Toshihiro Mibe, boss of Honda, who posed as prerequisite the concretization by Nissan of her plan to reduce his costs and relaunch his sales. Sign of his vulnerability: the Taiwanese giant of the electronic assembly Foxconn (Hon Hai) had approached it in the fall to acquire a majority participation, according to the Japanese press, which had precipitated the opening of negotiations with Honda.