Renault agrees to reduce its stake in Nissan, according to the Nikkei newspaper written by EFE

Tokyo, January 30 (.). – Renault (EPA:) has agreed to reduce its stake in Nissan Motor (TYO::) as part of a restructuring of the joint alliance between the two automakers, according to the Nikkei newspaper.

The directives of the two companies reached an agreement in principle to adjust the percentages of mutual shareholders on which the alliance is based, as well as on other areas of cooperation, such as the production of electric cars, according to the Japanese economic newspaper. .

Under the agreement, the French company will reduce its stake in Nissan Motor to 15%, from 43% it has so far, thus equalizing the percentage of Renault shares owned by the Japanese company (15%).

Nissan Motor has not yet made any official announcement about the agreement, although accordingly, it plans to make it public jointly with Renault on Monday.

The principle of agreement must now be supported by the boards of directors of Renault, Nissan Motor and Mitsubishi Motors (TYO :), a company controlled by the latter and which is also part of the alliance.

The two auto companies have been in negotiations since last October aimed at “strengthening cooperation and the future of the alliance,” which included, among other points, “structural improvements to ensure sustainable operations and governance,” as we announced at the time.

Nissan and Renault forged their alliance in 1999 with an initial investment by the French company of about $4,000 million in the Japanese company, and then sank into economic difficulties.

The former head of both companies, Carlos Ghosn, was one of the main architects of the alliance, and since he left the leadership of the group at the end of 2018 after he was arrested in Japan due to alleged tax violations, Renault and Nissan discussed new cooperation formulas without reaching an agreement.