Nissan is reportedly walking away from merger discussions with Honda, abandoning what would have been a $60 billion deal to create the world’s third-largest automaker.
This leaves Nissan to continue its restructuring alone, raising fresh doubts about whether it can navigate its turnaround without outside support. The company announced a 20% reduction in global production capacity and plans to shed 9,000 jobs as part of its restructuring efforts to qualify for the merger with Honda.
According to Reuters, the deal unraveled over disagreements about control. Honda, with a market value more than five times that of Nissan, had floated the idea of making Nissan a subsidiary.
Nissan rejected the proposal, seeing it as a departure from the initial premise of a merger between equals.
News of the stalled negotiations immediately hit Nissan’s stock, which plummeted more than 4% in Tokyo trading before the exchange temporarily halted sales. Honda’s shares, on the other hand, shot up over 8%, indicating investors never really wanted to tie up with Nissan.
Adding to Nissan’s headaches is its vulnerability to the machinations of President Donald Trump. If the U.S. follows through on tariffs against Mexican-built vehicles, Nissan stands to lose more than Honda or Toyota, with more than a third of its U.S. sales potentially at risk.
Renault, Nissan’s longtime alliance partner, and a 36% stakeholder, had been open to the merger, but with talks collapsing, Nissan is now left searching for another way forward— Foxconn was sniffing around in late December and may still be interested.
Mitsubishi Motors, a smaller member of the Nissan-Renault alliance, had reportedly considered joining the deal but never formally committed.
[Image: Honda, Nissan]
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