Nissan Motor Co Ltd is pressing its French partner Renault SA to cut its stake in the Japanese automaker by as much as possible, ideally to 15%, and may consider raising funds to buy back the shares, Reuters has reported.
The newswire said the demands were made in exchange for Nissan agreeing to invest in Renault's new unit being set up to house its electric vehicle (EV) assets, citing a source familiar with the matter who sought anonymity as the talks are not public.
Renault owns about 43% of Nissan, which wants its French ally to wind down the stake to 15%, drawing level with Nissan's share in the alliance partner, the source said.
Reuters reported that the source said the stake sale would not affect the business alliance.
The stake sell-down talks were first reported by the Wall Street Journal and news agency Bloomberg said Renault was open to reducing its stake in Nissan, also citing people familiar with the talks.
Renault is currently pushing ahead with plans to split its EV and combustion engine businesses in a bid to catch up with rivals and expects to unveil a detailed blueprint for the new EV entity at a capital markets day this autumn.
Alliance partners Nissan and Mitsubishi have not yet said whether they will take part in Renault's future EV unit.