April It will be a victim of a cost-cutting “massacre” if it joins forces with its Japanese counterpart HondaCarlos Ghosn, former Nissan CEO, told CNBC on Tuesday.
“I think, without a doubt, Honda will be in the driver’s seat, which is very sad after leading Nissan for 19 years (and) “It brought Nissan to the forefront of the industry, to see that they would be the victim of a massacre, because there is a complete duality between Nissan and Honda,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe.”
Ghosn, who once led three automakers as part of the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi alliance, is residing in Lebanon after being arrested in Japan in November 2018 and fleeing trial for financial crimes. He denies misconduct.
“There is practically no integration here, which means that if they want to achieve synergies, it will be through cost cutting, plan duplication, technology duplication, and we know exactly who will pay for that. To be the junior partner, it will be Nissan,” Ghosn said. .
Nissan had greater complementarities with France RenaultGhosn appreciated, referring to a long-standing partnership that has largely been dismantled.
Speculation about a potential merger between Honda and Nissan began earlier this month, and the two companies confirmed the official start of talks about a business integration during a press conference on Monday. Under the current proposals, the holding company would serve as the parent of both companies and be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, with Honda – whose market capitalization is about four times that of Nissan – nominating most of the new entity’s board members. Nissan’s strategic partner, Mitsubishi, is also in talks about joining the group.
The $54 billion Nissan-Honda group would overtake South Korea Hyundai To become the third largest automaker in the world in terms of car sales, behind Japan Toyota And Germany Volkswagen. The integrated group will also mark a milestone in the consolidation of the auto industry, which has long been expected both in Japan and around the world as companies struggle to afford the development of electric vehicles and self-driving technology.
Honda and Nissan executives confirmed on Monday that the combined company will be able to share information and resources needed to compete in the shift to electric vehicles and achieve economies of scale, boosting operating profits to 3 trillion yen ($19.1 billion) next year. In the long term.
Nissan is embarking on an ambitious integration process while at the same time undertaking a deep process The restructuring, announced in November, will cut global production capacity by a fifth and cut 9,000 jobs.
Honda CEO Toshihiro Mebe admitted on Monday that some shareholders may feel his company would support struggling Nissan as part of the deal, but stressed that business integration talks “will not bear fruit” if the two automakers fail to stand on their own.
However, Ghosn told CNBC that the merger plan indicates that “Nissan is in a state of panic, and is looking for someone to rescue it from the situation, because it is unable to find the solution on its own.”
He expressed “serious doubts” that Nissan’s transformation would be successful, without providing details.
Kei Okamura, senior vice president and portfolio manager at Neuberger Berman, echoed the sentiment that the details of the merger plan still need to be ironed out.
“If you’re an investor, you’ll be thinking about three to five earnings forecasts. What was announced (Monday) was the near-term, so the timeline, the long-term vision. The only problem is how,” Okamura told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia.” On Tuesday: “This combined entity will get there, and that’s where there’s a lot of uncertainty going forward.”
“Post-merger integration will be absolutely necessary…Unless these companies are able to fully integrate together in terms of people, assets and of course culture, these deals have the potential to fall through the cracks, and we have to take into account that this deal may not work,” Okamura added. “This will take place if Nissan does not implement its repair program.”
Nissan declined to comment on this story beyond its statement issued on Monday. Honda did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
