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The French government, which owns 15% of the automaker and 22% of the voting rights, has already warned that it was not the intention to let the former CEO stand in the polls. to go with the kind of generous earnings he is used to.
"I can tell you that we will be extremely vigilant, as the main shareholder, as to the exit conditions that will be set by the board of directors," said Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, at the time. AFP at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland this week.
In France, Ghosn was one of the world's highest paid business leaders. Considerable disbursement for an officer sitting in a Tokyo prison would not result in the demonstration of the "yellow vest" against the decline in his standard of living.
The 64-year-old Franco-Brazilian-Lebanese executive was arrested in November for underreporting tens of millions of dollars in eight years as head of Renault's alliance partner. Nissan. He denied this and other claims for financial misconduct and his lawsuit could take a few more months.
He presented his resignation to Renault this week after being sacked as president of Nissan and the third automaker of the alliance, Mitsubishi. However, Renault executives did not discuss its possible payment when they met on Thursday to appoint its replacements, Thierry Bollore as general manager and Jean-Dominique Senard as chairman of the board of directors.
"If his payment is discussed later, it is that his resignation was immediate and not negotiated," said Loic Dessaint of Proxinvest's shareholder advisory group.
"It's rare," said Dessaint, suggesting that by doing so, Ghosn hoped to immediately benefit from any "pre-discussed" gold handshake. "But Renault also has a strong hand to play because it can take legal action and claim damages" against its former boss when he is found guilty in the Nissan case, did he? he declares.
Question of 25 million euros
Like most CEOs, Ghosn's compensation combined fixed payments, share awards and performance-related cash flow supplements. In 2016, the executive known for "cutting costs" by dramatically reducing expenses and jobs has racked up 15.4 million euros ($ 17.6 million) in roles at Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi.
Seven million euros, coming only from Renault, provoked French officials. Last February, Mr Ghosn was forced to accept a 30% pay cut in order to get a new four year term as CEO.
According to the builder's annual report, the resignation of Mr Ghosn means that he must give up the actions granted to have achieved performance objectives.
"But what matters is what they will decide on the shares already awarded but not yet allocated," said Dessaint, pointing out that Ghosn could claim a treasure of 380,000 shares of current value. approximately 21 million euros.
"It's the same with deferred share awards, worth four to five million euros," he calculates.
Company officials declined to comment on any compensation. But a source close to the record said that given the circumstances surrounding Ghosn's departure, "we will reduce them as much as possible".
"Stupid to pay"
Even if an agreement is reached on the standard retirement plan, lawyers will always argue over two other issues of several million euros. The first concerns a non-competition clause providing for a total remuneration of two years – fixed and variable – in exchange for not joining another car manufacturer.
"Renault would be pretty stupid to pay," said Dessaint, "because the risk is virtually zero since he's in jail."
Ghosn's lawyers have lost two bail applications and, according to the rules of Japanese law, he could remain in jail for months before the start of his trial.
The second bone of contention concerns a retirement pension that would be payable annually to Ghosn until his death. According to Dessaint, Ghosn could receive € 765,000 a year after leading Renault since 2005, creating an alliance that sold more cars than its rivals last year.
Caolin Droniou of AFP with Antonio Rodriguez in Davos, Switzerland
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