Nissan to invest some $725 million in Renault’s EV unit, Yomiuri says

TOKYO (Reuters) -Nissan Motor is likely to invest around 100 billion yen ($725 million) in Renault (EPA:)’s new electric vehicle unit, the Yomiuri Shimbun said on Friday, potentially clearing a hurdle in drawn-out talks to reshape their automaking alliance.

The Japanese automaker on Thursday settled on the terms for a contract to overhaul its partnership with Renault and agreed with its French partner on the investment amount in the EV unit, Ampere, the Yomiuri said.

A Nissan (OTC:) spokesperson said discussions about the contract, including the investment amount, were not yet finalised.

“Discussions are being held between the two companies, but no agreement has been reached yet,” the spokesperson said.

Nissan and Renault expect Ampere’s enterprise value will come to 8 to 10 billion euros, with Nissan’s investment ratio likely coming in below 10% of that amount, the Yomiuri said, quoting people with knowledge of the matter.

That would be short of the 15% maximum Nissan set in February for the investment.

A Nissan director will be part of the new company, the newspaper said, adding that certain restrictions will be placed on the handling of intellectual property from the Japanese automaker.

After months of intense talks, Nissan and Renault agreed in January on the overhaul of their two-decade old alliance that will see Renault bring down its stake in Nissan to 15% from about 43% to put them on an equal level.

The partnership, which has grown to include junior member Mitsubishi Motors (OTC:), was founded in 1999.

($1 = 138.0200 yen)