Nissan, Renault in talks to merge, create new company

Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co. are in talks to merge, seeking to solidify their two-decade-old alliance under a single stock as an unprecedented shift toward electric and shared cars transforms the industry, people with knowledge of the matter said.

A deal would end the current alliance between the companies and marry them as one corporation, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the details aren’t public. Renault currently owns 43 percent of Nissan while the Japanese carmaker has a 15 percent stake in its French counterpart. Carlos Ghosn, the chairman of both companies, is driving the negotiations and would run the combined entity, the people said.

Renault shares jumped as much as 8.3 percent, hitting the highest intraday level in more than a decade. They were up 4.5 percent at 11:25 a.m. in Paris, giving the company a market value of about 29 billion euros ($36 billion). Nissan shares are down nearly 2 percent over the past year, giving the company a valuation of 4.6 trillion yen ($43 billion).