(Reuters) – Japanese carmaker Nissan Motor Co Ltd is urging its French partner Renault SA to reduce its stake in its capital as much as possible and may consider raising fresh money to buy back the shares, it said. -we learned on Sunday from a source familiar with the matter.
Nissan would like Renault’s stake to drop from 43% to 15% ideally, which would correspond to the stake that it itself holds at Renault, said this source, who wished to remain anonymous.
This sale of shares would be a condition for Nissan to agree to invest in the new entity dedicated to electric vehicles that Renault wishes to create within it to catch up with the leaders of the sector, she added.
The sale would not affect the business alliance. But Nissan may need to raise funds to buy Renault’s shares, the source continued.
A Nissan spokesman declined to comment. Renault did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters.
The Wall Street Journal was the first media outlet to report Nissan’s desire to buy Renault’s shares on Friday. The Bloomberg news agency later clarified that, according to other people familiar with the matter, Renault was open to the transaction.
Renault wants to split the activities related to electric vehicles and combustion engines in order to catch up in the field against competitors such as Tesla and Volkswagen.
Renault plans to unveil a detailed plan for this new entity this fall.
Renault chief executive Luca de Meo is due to attend the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix at Suzuka on Sunday, which should give him the opportunity to speak with his Japanese counterpart, Makoto Uchida, another told Reuters. source.
It is unlikely that the discussions this weekend will lead to concrete results, but the negotiations could be concluded before November 8, when Luca de Meo plans to present his strategy, added the first source cited.
Alliance partners Nissan and Mitsubishi have not yet said whether they will take part in Renault’s future EV (electric vehicles) entity.
Mitsubishi is considering taking a less than 10% stake in the entity, according to a source.
(Reporting by Maki Shiraki and Satoshi Sugiyama in Tokyo, Akanksha Khushi in Bangalore; additional reporting by Gilles Guillaume in Paris, French version by Caroline Pailliez)
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