Nissan shareholders vote out director who backed merger with Honda

{"text":[[{"start":7.65,"text":"Nissan shareholders have rejected the reappointment of Motoo Nagai, an influential outside director who was behind a push to merge the Japanese carmaker with rival Honda."}],[{"start":17.15,"text":"The company said on Tuesday that Nagai had not gained the 50 per cent approval required for his reappointment, while 11 other board directors had been voted through."}],[{"start":26.799999999999997,"text":"The FT reported on Saturday that Renault, which holds a 15 per cent voting stake in the Japanese group, planned to abstain over concerns about his independence."}],[{"start":36.349999999999994,"text":"The ousting of Nagai, a former senior executive at Mizuho, Nissan’s largest creditor, is the latest twist in the turbulent 27-year alliance between the Japanese and French carmakers."}],[{"start":49.39999999999999,"text":"Nagai was a key supporter of shortlived merger talks with Honda at the end of 2024 to create a Japanese carmaker with comparable scale to Toyota to better compete with Chinese electric-vehicle producers."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":62.54999999999999,"text":"The combination was initially touted as a merger of equals, but discussions were abandoned in less than three months after Honda pushed to have greater control by turning Nissan into its subsidiary."}],[{"start":74.04999999999998,"text":"Renault rejected the proposal in part because “it did not include any premium”."}],[{"start":79.59999999999998,"text":"During the merger talks, Honda was pitched as an alternative to Foxconn, the Taiwanese supplier to Apple which was in discussions to acquire Renault’s Nissan stake."}],[{"start":90.09999999999998,"text":"Honda has subsequently been plunged into its biggest-ever crisis after posting its first annual loss since listing in the 1950s on a mistimed EV bet."}],[{"start":99.79999999999998,"text":"Proxy advisers Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis had urged shareholders against voting for Nagai amid concerns about his independence."}],[{"start":108.29999999999998,"text":"After a decades-long career at Mizuho, he was appointed as Nissan’s outside statutory auditor in 2014 and became a board member in 2019."}],[{"start":117.24999999999999,"text":"Nagai was nominated to be chair of the audit committee and a member of the nomination and compensation committees, which would have given him influence over appointments to key executive roles. Nissan is now likely to proceed with a board of 11 members instead of 12."}],[{"start":133.5,"text":"The board drama comes as chief executive Ivan Espinosa seeks to reignite sales growth after executing a turnaround plan that involved cutting 20,000 jobs and shutting or selling seven out of 17 plants."}],[{"start":147,"text":"Renault agreed to strip back its alliance with Nissan in 2023, but the FT reported last year that leadership changes at both companies had triggered a new review to revive the partnership."}],[{"start":159,"text":"The rebalancing of the alliance capped Renault’s voting rights at 15 per cent, as well as agreeing to reduce its stake from the current level of 36 per cent."}],[{"start":176.15,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1782197608_1056.mp3"}