Honda Motor Co Ltd (TYO:7267) is willing to resume merger talks with Japanese peer Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (TYO:7201) if the latter’s CEO Makoto Uchida steps down, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
The report comes just days after the two Japanese automakers scuttled plans for a historic merger that could have created the world’s third-largest car marker.
Honda (NYSE: HMC) is open to reviving merger talks if Nissan (OTC: NSANY) can find a new head to better manage internal opposition to the merger, the FT report said, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
Merger talks had deteriorated after Honda reportedly demanded that Nissan become a fully owned subsidiary of the former, which drew resistance from Nissan.
Nissan’s Uchida- who was named as CEO in 2019- has signaled his desire to stay in the role until at least 2026. But he now faces increasing scrutiny from the board, shareholders, and partner Renault (EPA: RENA) for seemingly botching the deal with Honda. The FT report said that Nissan’s board had begun informal discussions over Uchida’s exit.
A merger with Honda would have served as a lifeline for Nissan, given that the Japanese automaker is struggling with years of declining sales, due to competition from electric vehicles, soft global demand, and some production disruptions in Japan.
Still, other reports showed that Taiwanese tech giant Hon Hai (TW:2317) Precision, also known as Foxconn, was considering taking a stake in Nissan after the Honda deal fell through.
