France ready to reduce its stake in Renault to consolidate its alliance with Nissan

The French finance minister has begun a visit to Japan saying his government is ready to reduce its 15% stake in Renault to consolidate the Nissan car manufacturer's growing alliance with Nissan.

Bruno Le Maire's comments were sent to the French media on the sidelines of the G20 finance ministers meeting in Japan and follow the brutal collapse of a $ 33 billion merger proposal for Renault presented by the giant Italian Fiat Chrysler (FCA).

"We can reduce the state's stake in Renault's capital. That's not a problem as long as, at the end of the process, we have a stronger automotive sector and a stronger alliance between the two major car manufacturers Nissan and Renault, "said Mayor Le Mans. 39 Agence France-Presse.

Some people close to Nissan said it was not the first time the French government had mentioned the possibility of reducing its participation, but it was crucial to define the "details" of any reduction.

French government officials said the minister was not talking about an impending reduction of the stake.

The collapse of the FCA merger proposal has laid bare the tension between Renault and Nissan and the growing sense of urgency in Paris of having to act quickly to consolidate the alliance. Many efforts to convert the alliance into a more "irreversible" arrangement have become bogged down.

In a statement explaining its decision to withdraw the merger proposal just one week after it was officially announced, FCA was struggling to relieve Nissan of any responsibility and had instead blamed the adverse political climate in France.

People close to FCA said that the French government was the decisive factor. Nissan thinks said the Japanese automaker had watched FCA "discover the difficult way" how difficult it was to meet the demands of 15% of Renault shareholders.

The French government stressed that it supported the merger as long as it received guarantees on jobs, governance and participation in a European project of electric batteries and that the merger could be achieved without weakening Renault's alliance with Nissan .

In a statement after the end of the talks – apparently because Paris had demanded a five-day deadline for a vote to rebadure Japan – the government said an "agreement had been reached on three of those conditions." only remained to get Nissan's explicit support. "

Some close relatives of the French government have tried to blame the Renault president, Jean-Dominique Senard, suggesting that he was a little naive in his treatment of the Japanese during the negotiations. However, Mr. Mayor publicly expressed his support for Mr. Senard and people familiar with the thoughts of the boss of Renault denied that he was considering leaving his post.

Relatives of Nissan and FCA have said that the words of the Mayor seemed to be a confession barely veiled by Paris that it was the mismanagement of the negotiations by the French government that had broken the agreement .

The French government's involvement in Renault and its regular interference in the decision-making process of its company have long been a source of friction between the French car manufacturer and Nissan.

"The involvement of the state is a major source of tension for the relationship and for years," said a person close to Nissan, who said that the Mayor had given no indication of the total sale of the position of the state.

The same person added that the idea of ​​a reduction of his stake in Renault by Paris was only relevant if it committed to becoming a pbadive shareholder, stating: "The sudden desire to preserve relations between Renault and Nissan is, at best, ironic and misleading. worst."

The collapse of the FCA merger deal highlighted the mistrust and frustration that now characterizes the Renault-Nissan alliance – a relationship that, until its arrest last November for financial misconduct, had been maintained by Carlos Ghosn.

Renault holds 43% of Nissan's capital, inherited from its Nissan rescue when it had saved the Japanese company from the near-bankruptcy of 1999, which has become a powerful symbol for Nissan of the perceived imbalance in its relations.

Renault and Nissan refused to comment.