stockmarket

Renault seeks Nissan shareholder meeting as Ghosn crisis deepens


© Reuters. Renault’s acting deputy chief executive Thierry Bollore attends a news conference about the situation with Renault, at the Bercy Finance Ministry in Paris

PARIS (Reuters) – Renault (PA:) requested a full Nissan shareholder meeting, a source close to the company said – appearing to escalate the carmaker’s standoff with its Japanese alliance partner in the wake of the pay scandal engulfing Chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn.

Thierry Bollore, the French group’s deputy CEO, issued the demand in a Dec. 14 letter to Nissan, the source said on Sunday, confirming a report in the Wall Street Journal.

“We respectfully ask that the board consider calling an extraordinary general meeting of Nissan shareholders as promptly as practicable,” Bollore wrote in the letter.

A Renault spokesman declined to comment.

Ghosn’s arrest in Japan for alleged financial misconduct has shaken the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, with Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa calling for changes to weaken Renault’s control.

Renault owns 43.4 percent of Nissan, whose reciprocal 15 percent stake in its French parent carries no voting rights. Nissan in turn controls Mitsubishi via a 34 percent holding.

The call for a shareholder meeting will likely be seen as an attempted show of force by Renault’s interim management, led by Bollore and Mouna Sepehri, Ghosn’s long-standing chief of staff who also heads legal affairs and communications.

The letter made no mention of using the shareholder meeting to hire or fire Nissan board members but remained vague about its purpose, saying only that it would “allow for appropriate disclosure and discussion of governance and other matters”.

It added that the indictment of Nissan “creates significant risks to Renault, as Nissan’s largest shareholder, and to the stability of our industrial alliance”.

At a Dec. 13 Renault board meeting, directors were briefed on the Nissan investigation that led to Ghosn’s arrest. He was charged alongside Nissan this week over the company’s failure to declare $43 million in deferred income he had arranged to receive. He and alleged accomplice Greg Kelly remain in custody.

While Nissan ousted Ghosn days after his arrest, the Renault board reiterated its earlier decision to keep him in office. Directors have yet to be given access to the Nissan findings, which are being closely held by Renault lawyers.

Bollore’s demand for a Nissan shareholder meeting was a “management decision” that was not raised at the previous day’s board session, the company source said, adding that it had been discussed subsequently with “all of the directors”.

Senior director Philippe Lagayette is standing in as chairman. The French government, Renault’s biggest shareholder, is backing Michelin (PA:) CEO Jean-Dominique Senard to replace Ghosn permanently as chairman, Le Figaro reported.

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.





READ SOURCE

Leave a Reply

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.