Nissan Motor Co has agreed to sell its global headquarters in Yokohama for ￥97 billion (US$630 million) to a group sponsored by Taiwanese autoparts maker Minth Group (敏實集團), as the struggling automaker seeks to shore up its financial position.
The acquisition is led by a special purchase company managed by KJR Management Ltd, a Japanese real-estate unit of private equity giant KKR & Co, people familiar with the matter said.
KJR said it would act as asset manager together with Mizuho Real Estate Management Co.
Photo: AFP
Nissan is undergoing a broad cost-cutting campaign by eliminating jobs and shuttering plants as it grapples with its worst financial position in more than two decades.
Operating income in the quarter ended on Sept. 30 was ￥52 billion, the company said yesterday.
However, Nissan withheld a forecast for full-year net income and said it would forgo an interim dividend for the fiscal year ending March next year.
Operating losses widened to ￥177 billion for the first half of the fiscal year, chief financial officer Jeremie Papin told reporters.
Retail sales during the period fell almost 18 percent in China and 17 percent in Japan, outweighing the 2 percent increase in the US, he said.
With investors bracing for a downbeat report following Nissan’s surprise forecast last week of a ￥275 billion annual operating loss — an outlook it reiterated yesterday— Papin struck an upbeat tone for the coming months.
The company expects a strong rebound in sales volumes and “We’re confident the next half will deliver growth,” Papin said.
The carmaker kept its full-year sales outlook at 3.25 million units.
Minth Group is the primary investor in the ￥97 billion transaction, which is part of a 20-year sale and leaseback agreement, Nissan said in a filing.
Nissan stands to make a net gain of about ￥74 billion.
“The proceeds will be used to maintain critical investments, while also enabling modernization of internal systems,” Nissan said.
The transaction would not affect operations or staffing at its headquarters.
“This move reflects a disciplined approach to capital efficiency unlocking value from non-core assets to support transformation during the challenging years,” the carmaker said.
Nissan’s headquarters was originally in Ginza, an upmarket shopping district in Tokyo, but it relocated in 2009 after construction of a new office in Yokohama, where the company was founded.
Chief executive officer Ivan Espinosa pledged earlier this year to cut 20,000 jobs and reduce Nissan’s global manufacturing operations from 17 sites to 10.
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