PARIS (Reuters) – Renault executives travelled to Japan this week to meet counterparts at Nissan in an effort to maximise the value of the French automaker’s stake in the Japanese firm ahead of its merger with Honda, a source close to the matter told Reuters.
Nissan and Honda said late last year they would begin formal talks on a merger that could potentially create the world’s third-largest auto group with annual output of 7.4 million vehicles.
Renault owns 36% of Nissan, including 18.7% in a French trust, and has said it is open to the merger.
But the French company is pushing Nissan to negotiate a higher premium from Honda, given that Honda is expected to take control of Nissan, according to a report in the Financial Times, which first reported the trip.
A Renault spokeswoman declined to comment on any proposal for a control premium.
Nissan Europe said it could not immediately comment. Honda did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Renault and Nissan overhauled an alliance of more than 20 years in 2023, rebalancing their cross shareholdings and refocusing on a limited number of projects and geographies.
Honda and Nissan are aiming to reach a definitive merger agreement for a holding company by the end of June, including fixing the merger ratio, the FT reported.
(Reporting by Gilles Guillaume. Additional reporting by Nathan Gomes. Writing by Dominique Patton;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
