FILE PHOTO: The logos of car manufacturers Renault and Nissan are seen in front of a common dealership of the companies in Saint-Avold, France, Jan. 15, 2019. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann
TOKYO (Reuters) – Renault SA will propose to Nissan Motor Co a plan to create a joint holding company in which both firms would nominate a nearly equal number of directors, as the French automaker seeks further integration with its Japanese partner, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Friday.
Under the proposal, the holding company would be headquartered in a third country, the newspaper said, without citing sources.
Renault had made an earlier merger proposal that Nissan rejected on April 12, the newspaper said.
The outlook for the alliance between Renault and Nissan – one of the world’s top automaking partnerships – has been in focus since the arrest in November of its main architect, Carlos Ghosn, for financial misconduct.
The capital structure between the two automakers, in which Renault is the main shareholder of Nissan, has become an issue in past years, since Renault saved Nissan from the brink of bankruptcy two decades ago.
Reporting by Ran Kim and Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Chris Gallagher