Renault-Nissan Talks Hit Snag Over Intellectual Property, Other Issues
Auto makers are negotiating pact that would reshape their alliance for the electric-vehicle era
Renault SA RNO -1.92% and Nissan Motor Co. NSANY 1.45% are struggling to nail down a deal that would reshape their alliance, with intellectual property among the sticking points, according to people with knowledge of the talks.
Discussions so far between Renault and Nissan have outlined a plan under which the French auto maker would reduce its current 43% stake in its Japanese partner to 15%, people at the companies said. The shares to be disposed of would be put into an independent financial trust and then sold at a later date at a predetermined price, the people said.
In exchange, Nissan would invest in Renault’s new electric-vehicle business, which the French auto maker aims to take public next year, the people said.
Renault and Nissan had been hopeful that they could strike a preliminary nonbinding agreement to reshape their more than two-decade-old alliance as soon as late October, people at the companies said. But several sticking points have delayed such a deal from being concluded, people familiar with the discussions said.
A major one involves jointly developed intellectual property and how it would be transferred to Renault’s new EV business, people familiar with the talks said.
Nissan also doesn’t want technology that it developed with Renault to be shared with Chinese automotive giant Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., which is planning to take a stake in Renault’s gasoline-car business, the people said.
Patents and other intellectual property involving batteries—in particular solid-state battery technology—have become a major point of contention, they said. Nissan has been developing the next-generation batteries in-house and plans to start a pilot production line in the year beginning April 2024.
The companies and the French state are also negotiating over what kind of voting rights Nissan would have in Renault after a deal is concluded, an issue that some people familiar with the talks described as unresolved.
Under French law, a shareholder that holds its shares for two years or more generally gets double voting rights. Nissan, a longstanding 15% shareholder in Renault, hasn’t been able to vote its shares because Renault holds a greater than 40% stake in Nissan. Once Renault’s stake fell below the 40% threshold, Nissan would normally be entitled to vote its shares with double rights.
However, Renault and the French government want to cap Nissan’s voting rights at 15%, people familiar with the matter said. The French side believes this would put the two car makers on an equal footing with each holding 15% voting rights in the other, they said.
The companies have been planning to review and vote on the agreement in mid-November when directors from both car makers will meet in Japan, people at Renault and Nissan said. The plan had been to reveal the deal publicly shortly thereafter.
While people at the companies say they still expect to reach a deal and Renault and Nissan management are still aiming to hold an announcement in November, they say the companies are likely to fall behind their original timeline because of the snags in the negotiations.
Nissan executives have long been frustrated by what they believe is a lopsided power structure in the alliance. Renault owns 43% of Nissan, a stake that exceeds the 15% Nissan holds in its smaller French partner and has given Renault outsize influence in the partnership.
The deal is aimed at easing tensions by equalizing the stakes while assuring Renault of its partner’s backing as the two companies move into the EV age. Renault has said it is creating the new EV business, known internally by the code name Ampère, to help ensure it can fund the costly transition away from the combustion engine by raising capital from outside investors.
Ampère would develop the software, parts and technology that are needed for battery-powered models but would remain majority-owned by Renault, people with knowledge of the plans said.