Renault and Nissan have approved opening talks with GM over a possible alliance. Nissan Motor Co.’s board of directors met on Monday and decided the company “should proceed with exploratory discussions concerning a potential alliance with General Motors,” Nissan said in a statement.
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Any talks will be conditional on GM endorsing a proposal by its major shareholder, Kirk Kerkorian’s Tracinda Corp., that GM join the alliance between Nissan and its partner, Renault SA, the statement said.
Later Monday, the Renault board approved opening talks with General Motors over a possible new alliance with Nissan Motor Co. if the US company wants the discussions, Renault said in Paris.
“The Board of Directors approved the position proposed by Carlos Ghosn: Exploratory discussions with General Motors concerning a potential alliance could start if General Motors Corp. makes the proposal,” the brief Renault statement said.
GM’s board is meeting this Friday (July 7) to discuss the letter from Tracinda floating the tie-up idea.
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By GlobalDataGhosn is the CEO of both Renault and Nissan and seen as a visionary manager and turnaround specialist.
Local media reports have said Renault and Nissan could buy up to 20 percent of outstanding shares in GM.
Details of the possible investment plan surfaced after billionaire investor and major GM shareholder Kerkorian proposed Friday that the troubled American carmaker join the Nissan-Renault alliance.
Ghosn has discussed the matter with Kerkorian and is willing to talk to GM, according to a separate statement by Nissan and Renault.
The rationale behind a tie-up between GM and Renault-Nissan is thought to centre on potential cost reductions. It is believed that the three companies together could realise substantial savings if they were to cooperate on engineering and consolidate their manufacturing operations.
However, heavy overlap in European operations in particular, could make that a fraught process according to analysts.
