Renault is offering some concessions to Nissan Motor as it tries to clinch a deal to reboot a more than two-decade alliance, according to sources.
Nissan’s independent board of directors are due to meet early next week to consider several proposals by Renault, said the people. These include reassurances to help ease Nissan’s concerns over shared intellectual property, one of the sticking points in the negotiations, the people said.
There’s also acknowledgment on Renault’s part that Nissan may invest less than hoped in the French car maker’s electric vehicle business Ampere that it’s currently carving out, the people said.
Renault sees potential for a roughly €10 billion ($10.8 billion) valuation for the unit and is planning an initial public offering for the second part of the year, depending on market conditions.
Nissan doesn’t agree with this valuation level and made no decision yet on Ampere, said the people. It may end up buying less than the originally planned 15 per cent stake, they said.
While Renault is making last-mile efforts to clinch the deal, the concessions remain minor and the car maker’s main focus is still execution of its strategic plan and profitability.
Those efforts are paying off, with the stock up almost 75 per cent since hitting a low on March 8, when Renault was under pressure because of a Russian business it no longer owns.
Renault is in the middle of a complex split of its business into five different units, while negotiating with Nissan ways to rebalance an alliance with lopsided capital ties that has become a source of friction over the years.
While Nissan chief executive Makoto Uchida wants to move quickly with the agreement, the company’s independent directors are worried about the implications for the Japanese company from Renault’s reorganisation, which has delayed the deal, several people said.
There’s also concern over Renault’s legacy combustion-engine business partner, China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding, gaining access to joint technology.
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The Patrol's signature name and engine badges
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Roughing it up in the sand
Inside the cabin
The talks between the two companies and junior alliance partner Mitsubishi Motors got new impetus earlier this week when French President Emmanuel Macron met with Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to reassure him that the French government backs Renault’s rebalancing plan and won’t seek a Renault-Nissan merger.
Past pressure for a merger from the French government, Renault’s most powerful investor with a 15 per cent stake, is one of the reasons relations between the two companies became fraught over the years.
The rebalancing will mean Renault selling 28 per cent of Nissan over time so that they each end up with equal, 15 per cent holdings in the other company.
As part of the proposals currently under discussion, Nissan won’t allow sharing of its e-Power hybrid technology within Horse, an entity Renault is creating for its legacy combustion-engine assets, the people said. Horse will be an equal partnership with Geely.
Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard and chief executive Luca de Meo are expected to attend in person the next alliance operating board meeting in Japan at the end of the month, the people said.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results
First Test, Brisbane: Australia won by 10 wickets
Second Test, Adelaide: Australia won by 120 runs
Third Test, Perth: Australia won by an innings and 41 runs
Fourth Test: Melbourne: Drawn
Fifth Test: Australia won by an innings and 123 runs
Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Although you can buy gold easily on the Dubai markets, the problem with buying physical bars, coins or jewellery is that you then have storage, security and insurance issues.
A far easier option is to invest in a low-cost exchange traded fund (ETF) that invests in the precious metal instead, for example, ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) and iShares Physical Gold (SGLN) both track physical gold. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF invests directly in mining companies.
Alternatively, BlackRock Gold & General seeks to achieve long-term capital growth primarily through an actively managed portfolio of gold mining, commodity and precious-metal related shares. Its largest portfolio holdings include gold miners Newcrest Mining, Barrick Gold Corp, Agnico Eagle Mines and the NewMont Goldcorp.
Brave investors could take on the added risk of buying individual gold mining stocks, many of which have performed wonderfully well lately.
London-listed Centamin is up more than 70 per cent in just three months, although in a sign of its volatility, it is down 5 per cent on two years ago. Trans-Siberian Gold, listed on London's alternative investment market (AIM) for small stocks, has seen its share price almost quadruple from 34p to 124p over the same period, but do not assume this kind of runaway growth can continue for long
However, buying individual equities like these is highly risky, as their share prices can crash just as quickly, which isn't what what you want from a supposedly safe haven.
Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un shake hands ahead of one-on-one discussion
US and North Korean teams sit down for bilateral summit
Kim: “I believe this is a good prelude for peace."
Trump: “We will solve it, we will be successful.”
All times UTC 4
All Blacks line-up for third Test
J Barrett; I Dagg, A Lienert-Brown, N Laumape, J Savea; B Barrett, A Smith; J Moody, C Taylor, O Franks, B Retallick, S Whitelock, J Kaino, S Cane, K Read (capt).
Replacements: N Harris, W Crockett, C Faumuina, S Barrett, A Savea, TJ Perenara, A Cruden, M Fekitoa.
NINE WINLESS GAMES
Arsenal 2-2 Crystal Palace (Oct 27, PL)
Liverpool 5-5 Arsenal (Oct 30, EFL)
Arsenal 1-1 Wolves (Nov 02, PL)
Vitoria Guimaraes 1-1 Arsenal (Nov 6, Europa)
Leicester 2-0 Arsenal (Nov 9, PL)
Arsenal 2-2 Southampton (Nov 23, PL)
Arsenal 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt (Nov 28, Europa)
Norwich 2-2 Arsenal (Dec 01, PL)
Arsenal 1-2 Brighton (Dec 05, PL)
RESULT
Brazil 2 Croatia 0
Brazil: Neymar (69'), Firmino (90' 3)
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023 More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
