Nissan to take 30% (controlling) stake in Mitsubishi Motors

[RobStark]

TOKYO -- Nissan Motor plans to spend roughly 200 billion yen ($1.84 billion) to buy an over 30% interest in Mitsubishi Motors, hoping to help the embattled carmaker turn itself around in the wake of a fuel-economy scandal.

The Japanese automakers, currently in the final stages of negotiations, are expected to hold board meetings Thursday to decide on the capital tie-up. Mitsubishi Motors is likely to issue new shares to Nissan through a private placement. If the deal goes through, Nissan would become the top shareholder, surpassing Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which has a roughly 20% stake.

The duo operates a 50-50 joint venture that designs minicars, which are then manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors and supplied to Nissan. Mitsubishi Motors has said that Nissan had no hand in doctoring fuel-efficiency test data for the four models implicated. Minicars account for 60% of its domestic sales volume.

The carmakers plan to cooperate in electric vehicles as well. By honing electric-car technologies, they hope to counter Toyota and Honda, which are focusing on fuel cell vehicles.

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Exclusive: Nissan to take 30% stake in Mitsubishi Motors- Nikkei Asian Review

 

[RobStark]

Nissan will take 34% controlling stake in Mitsubishi Motors

YOKOHAMA, Japan -- Nissan Motor Co. will invest 237 billion yen ($2.2 billion) to take a controlling 34 percent stake in Mitsubishi Motors.

The purchase is poised to vault Nissan past Mitsubishi group companies to become Mitsubishi Motors’ single-largest shareholder.

Of the Mitsubishi Group companies, Mitsubishi Heavy has the biggest stake with 20 percent. Trading company Mitsubishi Corp. holds 10 percent, while the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ owns 3.9 percent. Together, they hold about 34 percent of Mitsubishi Motors.

Under Japanese law, a one-third stake holding is enough to give a shareholder veto power over board decisions. Nissan's 34 percent stake would suffice.