This morning we mentioned that Nissan and Mitsubishi were in talks for Nissan to take a percentage of the shares of Mitsubishi. A few hours later, this is already a real deal and has signed the purchase of the 34% of the shares of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation Nissan, which will now be the majority shareholder, over other companies belonging to the conglomerate Mitsubishi.
Nissan will pay 237.000 million yen, near 1,900 million euros, , to get that 34% of Mitsubishi. The agreement will be signed on the 25th of may, when Nissan will also appoint four members of the board of directors of Mitsubishi Motors, which even will have a chance to become president of the company. This operation will become a strategic alliance that will expand all the agreements signed by both parties from the year 2010 and will be able to do that both brands benefit from the strengths of the other.
Nissan has made it clear that Mitsubishi will continue to maintain its independence, although it will be inevitable technological exchange, economies of scale, as well as the sharing of platforms, factories, and potential markets. That is to say, Mitsubishi will continue to exist as a brand, but it is undeniable that their models will lose identity and are more similar to those of Nissan. The decline of Mitsubishi in the past few years condemning the brand to a solution of this type, which has finally arrived aided by the scandal of the consumption.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (20%), Mitsubishi Corporation (10%) and the Bank of Tokyo – Mitsubishi UFJ (by 3.9%, the largest bank in Japan) will be the other shareholders after Nissan. The agreement signed today by the CEO of Nissan Carlos Ghosn and Mitsubishi, Osamu Masuko must be yet approved by the other shareholders of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation and the various regulatory bodies.
Source – Mitsubishi
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