Nissan Shares Increase Following A Restructuring of The Renault Alliance

Tuesday morning in Tokyo, shares of Nissan (OTC:NSANY) Motor Corp soared as the Japanese automaker and its French partner Renault SA (OTC:RNLSY) announced a comprehensive revamp of their two-decade-old partnership placing them on equal footing.

In early trading, Nissan's stock rose as high as 3.1% before giving back gains. At 02:08 GMT, they were up 2%, surpassing the Nikkei 225 average, which was in the red.

In accordance with the agreement announced on Monday, Nissan and Renault (EPA:RENA) will now hold 15% shares in each other, and Nissan's holding will include voting rights. Previously, Renault owned approximately 43 percent of the Japanese automaker, while Nissan had no voting rights.

Nissan executives had long been dissatisfied with the unbalanced character of the cooperation.

Following Monday's announcement, Masayuki Kubota, chief strategist at Rakuten Securities, told Reuters, "The normalization of the capital relationship will increase Nissan's management freedom, making it easier for the company to adopt a strategy that focuses on the United States, China, and emerging markets."

Renault placed approximately 28% of the Japanese manufacturer in a French trust as part of the transaction, which includes a lock-up that prohibits share sales for a specified time period and a standstill obligation that imposes additional restrictions on stock transactions.

The restructure addresses past issues with shareholder governance, as Nissan was unable to use its voting rights, according to a note by Nomura analyst Masataka Kunugimoto.

"A connection in which both firms have equal voting rights of 15% in the other company should significantly decrease governance difficulties," stated Kunugimoto. Overall, we anticipate that this statement will result in a reevaluation of Nissan's stock price.

Nomura has a "buy" rating and a price target of 750 JPY on the stock, significantly above Tuesday's high of 468.1 yen.

Nissan's stock has declined by around 23% over the previous three years, trailing industry leader Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) Corp by 24% and Renault by 4%.

Monday's closing price for Renault shares was 4% lower after the agreement was announced.