The marriage of Nissan and Honda was too good to be true. By spring, the two Japanese manufacturers were to merge, with Mitsubishi, with the aim of forming the third largest automobile group behind Toyota and Volkswagen. Unfortunately, after the announcement a few days before Christmas, the wind changed and Honda could spoil the party. The manufacturer would no longer want to merge with Nissan, but would simply buy the brand.
This is in any case what the Japanese daily Nikkei announced on Wednesday, February 5, which announced, on the same occasion, that Nissan would not have wanted to continue negotiations, even if it meant ending the initial merger project.
The fall had started a few days ago with Mitsubishi's wish to dissociate itself from the project. Without this third manufacturer, the Honda-Nissan merger was simpler, but also more at risk that one of the two companies would seek to gain the upper hand over the other. And this has not escaped notice. Honda shareholders are said to have sought to push CEO Toshihiro Mibe to obtain the management of the newly formed group.
A way for them to avoid seeing Nissan tarnish Honda's good financial health on the stock market. Honda is in fact six times heavier than Nissan on the financial markets, on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and a dilution of shares would not please Honda shareholders. A hierarchy therefore seems to be created between the two manufacturers, in a project that sought to put them on an equal footing, so that Japan could save its automobile industry. On the other side, Chinese competition is exploding.
A discounted Nissan, and Renault's stake threatened
The idea of a takeover of Nissan by Honda has caused a stir in the industry, while the price offered by Honda is reportedly lower than hoped. A point that does not suit Renault, which still owns 35% of the manufacturer's shares. As the Japanese media Nikkei explained, a plan B for the manufacturer would be to find a new investor, without going through car brands.
One of them, which has already expressed its interest in the Honda-Nissan case, is Foxconn. The Taiwanese iPhone manufacturer on behalf of Apple, had sought to position itself to recover Renault's stake. Unfortunately, the Japanese authorities have always blocked its path, until the end of last year. It remains to be seen whether, in the absence of a merger, a Foxconn investment in Nissan could be accepted as a last resort.
Source: Nikkei
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