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Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi meet to hash out future in shadow of Ghosn

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TOKYO — When the three leaders of the world’s top car-making alliance gather in Japan on Tuesday, they will be looking to secure a partnershi­p that was built by former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn and then possibly imperilled by his ouster.

A Tokyo court on Monday rejected Ghosn’s request to attend Nissan’s board meeting, denying him a seat at the table even as the carmaker looks set to bolster the alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi Motors that Ghosn drove for over two decades.

Released on $9 million bail last week after spending more than 100 days in a Tokyo detention centre, Ghosn faces charges of under-reporting his salary at Nissan by about $82 million over nearly a decade — charges he has called “meritless.”

In the wake of the scandal, Renault has started its own review of payments to Ghosn. French prosecutor­s have opened a preliminar­y inquiry into how he financed his 2016 wedding, French media reported on Monday.

His dramatic arrest in November and the long detention that followed exposed tensions between Nissan Motor Co. and its top shareholde­r, France’s Renault SA, causing concern about the future of the alliance — the world’s largest maker of automobile­s, excluding heavy trucks.

Some at Nissan had been unhappy with Ghosn’s push for a deeper tie-up, which was seen as possibly including a full merger. Smaller Renault owns 43% of Nissan after rescuing the Japanese company from nearbankru­ptcy in 1999. Nissan holds a 15%, non-voting stake in Renault, whose top shareholde­r is the French government.

While Ghosn himself has cast the charges against him as a boardroom coup, there are clear signs emerging that the alliance looks set to continue.

Renault on Monday confirmed it was in talks with Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. about setting up a new alliance body to improve their collaborat­ion.

“The proposed arrangemen­t will have no impact on the existence of the (alliance agreement) and the cross-shareholdi­ng structure, which will both remain in place,” Renault said.

Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi plan to set up a joint board meeting structure under which Renault’s new chairman, JeanDomini­que Senard, is likely to take the chair, people with direct knowledge of the matter have told Reuters.

That would replace Dutchbased companies currently linking Nissan and Renault and, separately, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors, the people said.

The heads of the partners will hold a news briefing at Nissan’s Yokohama headquarte­rs on Tuesday, Nissan said. That is scheduled 4:30 p.m. GHOSN ‘DISAPPOINT­ED’

AT BAN FROM NISSAN MEETING Ghosn said he was disappoint­ed that a Tokyo court had rejected his request to attend the car maker’s board meeting on Tuesday, and that he was still willing to carry out his duties as a board member.

“Mr. Ghosn is disappoint­ed that the Court denied his request to attend the Nissan Board of Directors meeting,” according to a statement issued by a spokesman.

“As an elected member of the Board, Mr. Ghosn stands ready to fulfill his profession­al duties to the shareholde­rs who elected him,” the statement said.

“It is unfortunat­e that the meritless and unsubstant­iated accusation­s against him have blocked his ideas and perspectiv­e from being deployed in service of the company he served for the past twenty years.”

Released on $9 million bail last week after spending more than 100 days in a Tokyo detention centre, Ghosn faces charges of under-reporting his salary at Nissan by about $82 million . —

 ?? REUTERS ?? THE LOGOS of car manufactur­ers Renault and Nissan are seen in front of a common dealership of the companies in Saint-Avold, France, Jan. 15.
REUTERS THE LOGOS of car manufactur­ers Renault and Nissan are seen in front of a common dealership of the companies in Saint-Avold, France, Jan. 15.
 ?? REUTERS ?? FORMER NISSAN MOTOR CHAIRMAN Carlos Ghosn sits inside a car as he leaves his lawyer’s office after being released on bail from Tokyo Detention House, in Tokyo, Japan, March 6.
REUTERS FORMER NISSAN MOTOR CHAIRMAN Carlos Ghosn sits inside a car as he leaves his lawyer’s office after being released on bail from Tokyo Detention House, in Tokyo, Japan, March 6.

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