(Bloomberg) — Renault SA welcomed a decision by partner Nissan Motor Co. granting the French carmaker a seat on its board committees, signaling an end to a dispute that has poisoned the world’s largest auto alliance.
The accord could help mend relations, which plumbed to new depths after Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard threatened to abstain from voting on a governance plan at Nissan’s annual meeting next week. His demand for more committee representation came shortly after Nissan failed to support a merger between Renault and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV.
The Japanese company will give Renault CEO Thierry Bollore a seat on the board’s audit committee and Senard a position on the nomination committee — key positions at the heart of decision making, Nissan said in a statement Friday. Renault now expects to support Nissan’s resolutions during the investor meeting on June 25, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified discussing the negotiations.
“The agreement reached on Renault’s presence in Nissan’s new governance confirms the spirit of dialogue and mutual respect that exists within the alliance,” Renault said in a statement.
Yasushi Kimura, an adviser to oil company JXTG Holdings Inc. will chair the board and Senard will become the vice-chair. The nomination committee will be chaired by Masakazu Toyoda, the lead independent outside director.
The concessions from Nissan to let Renault’s CEO on the audit committee came with strings attached. The Japanese automaker is placing restrictions on Bollore’s role in areas where the two companies might have a conflict of interest, people familiar with the matter said.
No Choice
While tensions between the partners have never been higher, both sides have indicated they have little choice but to patch up their two-decade alliance. The partnership has proven one of the most successful among automakers, generating 5.7 billion euros ($6.4 billion) in savings from manufacturing, purchasing and engineering in the 2017 financial year, the companies estimate.
Yet the alliance has grown increasingly fractious since the November arrest of former leader Carlos Ghosn on accusations of financial misconduct, which he has denied. Nissan’s governance overhaul was largely geared toward improving oversight following the scandal.
In the aftermath, a joint audit by the two companies also found transparency breaches and a lack of adequate financial controls at RNBV, the Amsterdam-based company that managed the alliance. Since then, RNBV has been shrunk, its executives re-assigned to their respective companies and common services, such as communications and legal, appear to be dormant.
Waymo Deal
Still, common projects continue to emerge. The three-way alliance, which includes smaller member Mitsubishi Motors Corp., unveiled a partnership on Thursday to explore driverless services in France and Japan with Waymo LLC, the autonomous-vehicle unit of Google parent Alphabet Inc.
The lopsided shareholding arrangement between Renault and Nissan has been a long-running source of friction: Renault’s 43% stake in Nissan comes with voting rights, while Nissan’s 15% holding in Renault does not. The role of France, Renault’s most powerful shareholder, has also irked Nissan.
Following the abrupt collapse of the merger discussions with Fiat, both Renault and the French state pledged to repair the alliance with Nissan before contemplating a resumption of talks with the Italo-American carmaker. France in particular views securing Nissan’s explicit backing as crucial for the success of a Fiat-Renault combination. Nissan representatives on Renault’s board abstained in an informal vote on the deal last week, leading France to seek a delay.
Despite the finger-pointing that followed the failed talks, Renault, Fiat and France left the door ajar for a possible deal as they brace for the costly changes sweeping the industry, such as developing electric and autonomous vehicles.
(Updates with company announcement in third graph.)
To contact the reporters on this story: Ania Nussbaum in Paris at [email protected];Ma Jie in Tokyo at [email protected];Kae Inoue in Tokyo at [email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at [email protected], ;Kenneth Wong at [email protected], Reed Stevenson
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