Nissan Motor is likely to revive efforts to persuade Renault to reduce its stake in its Japanese alliance partner and help balance the partnership, an anonymous Bloomberg source "familiar with the matter" has said.
The source told the news agency the plan would involve both companies cutting their cross shareholdings and would call for both automakers to use the funds for joint technology investments that could boost the alliance.
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The Bloomberg source said it was still early days for the proposal and details such as the timing of any stake sale were undecided.
The report said an an agreement could help bring Nissan closer to the independence sought by some executives who have long criticised the uneven upper hand held by the French partner.
Azusa Momose, a spokeswoman for Yokohama-based Nissan, told Bloomberg there were no plans for discussions over reducing stakes.
A Renault spokesman declined to comment to the news agency, pointing to two interviews given by chairman Jean-Dominique Senard in Davos where he dismissed talk of shareholding changes.
The French automaker owns about 43% of Nissan, while the Japanese manufacturer only holds 15% of Renault and zero voting rights, Bloomberg noted.
