TOKYO, Feb 18 — Nissan shares rallied today after a report said Honda would be willing to re-open takeover talks if Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida steps down.
The Japanese auto giants said last week they had scrapped plans to join forces, which had been seen as a way to catch up with US titan Tesla and Chinese firms in electric vehicles.
The merger talks apparently unravelled after Honda proposed to make its struggling rival a subsidiary instead of a plan announced in December to integrate under a new holding company.
Uchida told reporters Thursday 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 maximised”.
However, Nissan jumped almost 6 per cent at one point today 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 per cent.
The FT, citing people close to the matter, said 58-year-old Uchida had been a strong advocate for a deal.
But 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 per cent plunge in first-half net profit, and on Thursday said it expected an annual loss of more than US$500 million (RM2.2 billion).
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 2026.
Mibe said Thursday that the automakers would continue to seek “synergy” through a strategic partnership announced in August that also included Nissan’s junior partner Mitsubishi Motors. — AFP
