Renault cuts Nissan’s stake to 15% after transferring shares to trust. The alliance partners said in a statement that France’s Renault (RENA.PA) had reduced its ownership in Nissan (7201.T) to 15% from about 43% by putting 28.4% of the Japanese carmaker in a French trust, putting them on an equal footing about cross-ownership.
According to the manufacturer’s announcement, the revised alliance agreement between Renault, Nissan, and junior partner Mitsubishi Motors (7211.T) went into force on Wednesday.
“This next chapter of the alliance will build on the foundations of the long-standing partnership and maximize value creation for each alliance member,” stated the statement. The statement says that Renault is not required to sell the Nissan shares given to the trust within a specific time.
According to the statement, the Japanese automaker or a third party may receive a right of first offer, and the French automaker may sell the entrusted shares at any time in cooperation with Nissan.
After announcing a radical restructuring of their alliance in London at the beginning of the year, Nissan and Renault worked hard for months to finalize the parameters of the agreement, with the Japanese carmaker raising worries over protecting its intellectual property in future joint ventures.
To make them more equal partners, the firms announced in January that Renault would place around 28% of Nissan in a French trust.
Nissan agreed to contribute up to 600 million euros ($641 million) as part of the agreement to become a strategic investor and gain a seat on the board of Renault’s electric car division, Ampere.
Separately, Mitsubishi has pledged to put up to 200 million euros into the business, which Renault intends to go public with by the spring of next year.
