Nissan Motor Co. may invest more than 200 billion yen ($1.84 billion) in a play to take over Mitsubishi Motors Corp., which has been battered by a scandal over falsified fuel-economy ratings, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported.
Nissan is in the final stage of talks to effectively acquire Mitsubishi Motors by taking a 34 percent stake, NHK said, citing a person familiar with the situation. Mitsubishi will probably issue new new shares to sell to Nissan in a private placement, Nikkei reported, adding that the automakers are expected to hold board meetings on Thursday to decide on the tie-up.
“There is a logic to Mitsubishi Motors needing a partner, since they clearly don’t have the engineering resources to be a player in a world where technology is moving so quickly,” said Maryann Keller, an independent auto analyst in Stamford, Connecticut. “They’ve always been an also-ran in major markets like the U.S. But they actually have a decent business in Southeast Asia, so they have some attractive assets.”
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