TOKYO, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Shares of Nissan Motor Corp (7201.T) rose in early trade in Tokyo on Tuesday, after the Japanese automaker and its French partner Renault SA (RENA.PA) announced a sweeping overhaul of their two-decade-old alliance putting them on equal footing.
Nissan shares were up almost 2%, outperforming a flat Nikkei 225 share average (.N225).
Under the deal announced on Monday, Nissan and Renault will now hold 15% stakes in each other, and Nissan will get voting rights with its stake. Previously, Renault held around 43% of the Japanese automaker and Nissan did not have voting rights.
The uneven nature of the alliance had long been a source of friction for Nissan executives.
“The normalisation of the capital relationship will raise the amount of freedom Nissan has in terms of management, making it easier to adopt a strategy that focuses on the United States, China and emerging markets,” Masayuki Kubota, chief strategist at Rakuten Securities, told Reuters following Monday’s announcement.
Renault put around 28% of the Japanese automaker in a French trust as part of the deal, which includes a lock-up that prevents share sales for a certain period, as well as a standstill obligation, which puts other limits on a stock sale.
The French automaker’s shares closed 4% lower on Monday after the deal was announced.
Reporting by David Dolan and Daniel Leussink; Editing by Jamie Freed
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