(Bloomberg) — iPhone maker Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., also known as Foxconn, is in talks with Nissan Motor Co.’s largest shareholder Renault SA about selling its stake in the Japanese automaker, Taiwan’s Central News Agency said. . , referring to people it did not identify.
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Nissan and fellow Japanese carmaker Honda Motor Co. are exploring a merger, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday, that would rival Toyota Motor Corp. in Japan and the combined company to face competitive challenges around the world. will provide a better position to
However a potential spanner in the works is Foxconn, which is separately said to have approached Nissan to acquire a stake. Foxconn is investing heavily in factories to make electric vehicles and Nissan, which has slashed its earnings forecasts and is cutting 9,000 jobs globally, needs a financial rescue.
According to the Central News Agency, Jun Seki, chief strategy officer of Hon Hai’s EV arm, told Nissan of Foxconn’s interest in buying its shares, but Nissan did not respond favorably. As a result, Seki began to include Nissan’s 36% shareholder, Renault.
The report states that Seki and his team are currently in France in talks with Renault. Renault’s stake in Nissan is a holdover from the long-standing alliance between the French automaker, Nissan, and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation.
Honda, meanwhile, has threatened to end its strategic software partnership with Nissan if it wants to join hands with Foxconn, Nikkei said in a previous report. Honda also offered to secure Nissan as a white knight investor if Foxconn’s approach became hostile after a rebuff, Nikkei said.
Official talks, including a possible merger between the two Japanese companies, could begin as early as Dec. 23, the Nikkei added.
Honda shares fell more than 2.5% in early trade on Thursday, while Nissan’s stock was trading down 6.5% after jumping a record 24% on Wednesday.
Honda is considering a number of options, including a merger, a capital injection and even the formation of a holding company, according to executive vice president Shinji Aoyama. The alliance may also include Mitsubishi Motors.
Representatives for Honda and Nissan did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the start date of the talks.
The merger of the Japanese car brands would create a strong presence against the Toyota group at home and Honda and Nissan in global markets against Tesla Inc. And Chinese carmakers such as BYD will allow the company to pool resources to compete.
