Latham & Watkins Advises Nissan on the New Binding Framework Agreement of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance

Latham & Watkins has advised Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., a leading Japanese automotive group listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, on the negotiation of the new framework agreement between Nissan and Renault Group that includes a three-dimension program to maximize value for all stakeholders of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance.

The program includes:

• High-value-creation operational projects in line with the Alliance roadmap towards 2030, with projects under consideration in Latin America, India, and Europe
• Enhanced strategic agility, exploring existing strategies in electrification and low-emission
• A Rebalanced the Renault Group-Nissan cross-shareholding and reinforced Alliance governance whereby Nissan and Renault Group would retain a 15% cross-shareholding, and where Renault Group would transfer 28.4% of Nissan shares into a French trust

The transactions contemplated in the framework agreement would be subject to a limited number of conditions precedent, including negotiation of additional definitive agreements and regulatory approvals, and completion is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2023. 

The cross-border Latham team was led in Paris and Tokyo by corporate partners Olivier du Mottay, Hiroki Kobayashi, and Ivan Smallwood, assisted by Charles-Antoine Guelluy and Michael Yoshii. Advice was also provided from Paris by antitrust & competition partner Jacques-Philippe Gunther and international arbitration partner Fernando Mantilla-Serrano; and from London by partners Martin Saywell, Beatrice Lo, and Stuart Davis.