Nissan Motor Co shares yesterday rallied after a report said Honda Motor Co would be willing to reopen takeover talks if Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida steps down.
The Japanese auto giants last week said they had scrapped plans to join forces, which had been seen as a way to catch up with US titan Tesla Inc and Chinese firms in electric vehicles.
The merger talks apparently unraveled after Honda proposed to make its struggling rival a subsidiary instead of a plan announced in December last year to integrate under a new holding company.
Photo: Reuters
Uchida told reporters on Thursday last week that “we could not accept this proposal as we were not sure how much our autonomy would be kept and if Nissan’s potential would be maximized.”
However, Nissan shares yesterday rose almost 6 percent at one point after the Financial Times said Honda would be prepared to revive negotiations under a different Nissan boss. The gains were pared to close up 3.7 percent.
The Financial Times, citing people close to the matter, said 58-year-old Uchida had been a strong advocate for a deal.
However, his relations with Honda president Toshihiro Mibe had “deteriorated as Honda became frustrated with the speed of Nissan’s restructuring and the depth of its financial troubles,” the paper said.
Both Honda and Nissan declined to comment on the report.
Nissan announced thousands of job cuts last year after reporting a 93 percent plunge in first-half net profit, and on Thursday said it expected an annual loss of more than US$500 million.
The Financial Times said Uchida faced pressure to depart from board members over the failed talks, although he had indicated a desire to stay in the top job until next year.
Mibe on Thursday said that the automakers would continue to seek “synergy” through a strategic partnership announced in August that also included Nissan’s junior partner Mitsubishi Motors Corp.
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