Dec 13 (NHK) - Japan's Nissan Motor is buying back five percent of its outstanding shares from French partner Renault for nearly 120 billion yen, or more than 750 million dollars. The deal is part of an effort by the two companies to rebalance their corporate alliance.
Nissan announced the purchase on Tuesday. The automaker plans to cancel all the acquired shares later in the week to boost shareholder returns.
Nissan and Renault agreed to a deal in February for the French automaker to reduce its stake in Nissan from 43 percent to 15. To do so, Renault transferred about 28 percent of these shares into a trust that it plans to gradually sell down.
Wednesday's purchase means 23 percent of the shares remain in the trust. Nissan has the right of first offer on them, but it is unclear whether the Japanese firm plans to exercise that right given the huge cost of such an acquisition. ...continue reading
