Honda Motor Co., Ltd. and Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. began business integration talks Monday, Dec. 23, with an eye to establish a joint holding company with potential revenue exceeding 30 trillion yen (Php11.17 trillion) and operating profit of at least 3 trillion yen, the companies said.
They expect to sign a definitive agreement in June 2025, although a potential transaction would depend on the steady execution of Nissan's actions to turn around its performance and create a "leaner, more resilient business capable of swiftly adapting to changes in the market," according to a joint statement.
Honda and Nissan also signed an MOU with Mitsubishi Motors Corp. to explore the possibility of Mitsubishi participating in their potential business integration, with a decision expected by end of January 2025, the companies said in a separate statement.
"Honda and Nissan have begun considering a business integration...It is significant that Nissan's partner, Mitsubishi Motors, is also involved in these discussions," Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida said.
If the Honda-Nissan integration is approved by both companies' shareholders and regulatory authorities, both Honda and Nissan will become subsidiaries of the joint holding company that will be created and will continue to develop their brands, the companies said.
Both Honda and Nissan will cease to be traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, while the joint holding company is targeted to be listed in August 2026. Honda will nominate the majority of the directors of the joint holding company and the company president and representative director or representative executive officer will be selected from among Honda's directors, the joint statement added.
Honda and Nissan first agreed to collaborate in March 2024, when they signed an MOU on vehicle intelligence and electrification. Another MOU was signed in August 2024 to deepen their partnership by carrying out joint research on next-generation software-defined vehicles.
"Creation of new mobility value by bringing together the resources, including knowledge, talents and technologies that Honda and Nissan have been developing over the long years is essential to overcoming challenging environmental shifts that the auto industry is facing," Honda Representative Executive Officer Toshihiro Mibe said.
"We are still at the stage of starting a review, and we have not decided on a business integration yet, but in order to find a direction...by the end of January 2025, we strive to be the one and only leading company that creates new mobility value through chemical reaction that can only be driven through synthesis of the two teams," he added. (Ventures Cebu)
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