Paris:Renault and alliance partner Nissan are ready to pursue a closer tie-up, chief executive Carlos Ghosn said on Friday, but not before the French state sells its stake in the French carmaker.
Ghosn, who heads both manufacturers, said a 2015 stand-off over French government voting rights had persuaded Nissan that no further consolidation was possible while France remains a shareholder.
“The Japanese will never accept to be part of an entity where the French state will be a shareholder of Japanese assets,” Ghosn told analysts as he presented Renault’s full-year results. “The day the French state decides to get out, everything is open.”
France is Renault’s biggest shareholder, with a 19.74% stake and a bigger share of voting rights.Reuters
