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France ready to cut Renault stake to shore up Nissan partnership: finance minister

20 Comments
By Kazuhiro Nogi

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Difficult to believe... Sound so much like China...

All they want is Nissan's technology which Renault and Fiat both wanted.

And, when the partnership was consummated, they as a government can step in any time and become a part of it again.

Nissan should never consider such a partnership again.

0 ( +6 / -6 )

@Kazetsukai

"Nissan should never consider such a partnership again."

Without Ghosn and Renault Nissan would have died a slow death a long time ago, short memory or selective thinking?

6 ( +11 / -5 )

Time has changed. NIssan better forget such a past and move on.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

@kazetsukai :All they want is Nissan's technology which Renault and Fiat both wanted.....Nissan should never consider such a partnership again..

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Yes. Indeed.

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@ Kobe White Bar Owner:

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Your logic does not hold.

Ghosn actions as CEO have nullified his credibility.

He is no hero.

Besides he pulled Nissan together by firing 20,000 employees and

selling company property and assets.

Its elementary to 'fix' financial problems by selling assets and reducing overhead ( via firing employees)

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

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@ kwatt

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Yes. Exantly.

Renault is in financial trouble - and offering up shares is clearly an act of desperation.

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1 ( +3 / -2 )

France is ready to consider paring back its 15-percent stake in Renault

Not obvious how this would help. Everything I've read would indicate that the big issue is that Renault owns 43.4% of Nissan with the stock have full voting rights while Nissan owns 15% of Renault with stock that has no voting rights.

Nissan contributes billions each year to the Renault bottom line. Renault contributes very little to the Nissan bottom line.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Well I guess Nissan should NOT have sold to Renault then but they DID, so they need to shut or put up!

ie. BUY shares back from Renault, I am sure they would sell if the price is right, make an offer or STOP whining!

4 ( +6 / -2 )

@bullfighter: Nissan contributes billions each year to the Renault bottom line. Renault contributes very little to the Nissan bottom line

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That's very true.

Without Nissan, Renault is finished.

Not to mention that Nissan's technology is state of art.

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That's why F/C withdrew from talks with Renault. They noted Nissan was not interested , and Renault is hardly operational.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

@GW:  so they need to shut or put up!

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Not really. They can dissolve the alliance.

I think that is what Nissan ( which is actually a J Govm't operation) will do.

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0 ( +2 / -2 )

BUY shares back from Renault, I am sure they would sell if the price is right, make an offer or STOP whining! unfortunately that won't happen Renault and Nissan are far too entwined, breaking the alliance will just make both companies less competitive. As the world moves to electric and ride sharing auto companies will be selling less vehicles in the future with reduced profits and the smaller companies will have to merge to survive with the big players like VW Toyota GM

1 ( +2 / -1 )

@ wtfJapan.  the smaller companies will have to merge to survive with the big players like VW Toyota GM.

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You make a valid point.

I wonder, though, if Nissan as it unravels its alliance with Renault (bc Nissan does not profit from Renault) and perhaps look to staying with Mitsubishi.

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0 ( +0 / -0 )

unfortunately that won't happen Renault and Nissan are far too entwined, breaking the alliance will just make both companies less competitive. As the world moves to electric and ride sharing auto companies will be selling less vehicles in the future with reduced profits and the smaller companies will have to merge to survive with the big players like VW Toyota GM

WTF,

AGREED that's why Nissan needs to shut up & stop whining & get on with things or fade away AGAIN, perhaps for good this time!

0 ( +2 / -2 )

@semperfi

Besides he pulled Nissan together by firing 20,000 employees and

selling company property and assets.

Its elementary to 'fix' financial problems by selling assets and reducing overhead ( via firing employees)

What would you have proposed instead? Nissan completely failing, going bankrupt, and everyone out of a job? I don't think you understand the situation Nissan was in prior to Ghosn. They were already selling some of their assets and had already closed several divisions resulting in many jobs lost.

Nissan was over $20b in debt in the mid to late 90's. After the Japanese Government refused to bail out Nissan, it started looking abroad to help save itself because it was about to collapse. So when your country won't bail you out and you are deeply in debt and going down even further, what did you want them to do? Should they have just fired everyone and completely fail?

0 ( +3 / -3 )

So French Govt selling is share of Renault to Nissan.... sounds like a take-over of Renault by Nissan is in the making.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

"Without Ghosn and Renault Nissan would have died a slow death a long time ago, short memory or selective thinking?"

Well, Nissan just needed a gaijin, any gaijin, at that moment, who had a thick face and the guts to fire people to cut costs. A French grape grower could have done what Ghosn did, with less fanfare though. 

Ghosn did not come to work for Nissan for free. He was hired and paid one of the highest salaries in Japan to do what Nissan instructed to him to do and meet the goals Nissan required him to meet. He did a good job as a top employee, so Nissan gave him several raises - good for him (but he turne too stupid later not to know how to enjoy his fortunes!). Had he failed to meet Nissan's expectations early on, Nissan's Board of Directors would have kicked him out and let another lucky gaijin in (from those standing on their waiting list). 

About Renault? Charitable savior or opportunist loan shark? It seized the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a dramatic investment move that saw it run faster than Germany's Mercedes,   to own shares of Nissan.  Renault has been repaid handsomely by Nissan's superior technologies and products. How many cars can Renault alone sell in North America per year, anyway, compared to the some 1.3 million cars Nissan has been selling every year in the US alone? 

Difficult to believe... Sound so much like China...

All they want is Nissan's technology which Renault and Fiat both wanted.

And, when the partnership was consummated, they as a government can step in any time and become a part of it again.

Nissan should never consider such a partnership again.

Rightly so, may Nissan keep them (Renault & Fiat) salivating for Nissan's tech from a safe distance!!

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

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@intlobserver

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Right on!

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

BAD choice or desperate ???.There are other more reliable partners in Japan. Very poor business move.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Nissan contributes billions each year to the Renault bottom line.

That was was until half a year ago. Sales and profits are diving since then and most probably will continue to do so.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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