Peugeot to be Mitsubishi top shareholder
Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2009 3:32 pm
http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Artic ... 8011&vf=26
French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroen is in the final stages of talks with Mitsubishi Motors to become the top shareholder of the struggling Japanese carmaker, a report said.
Mitsubishi would likely issue 200-300 billion yen ($A2.44 billion to $A3.67 billion) in new shares, giving Peugeot a 30-50 per cent stake, the Nikkei economic daily said, without citing its sources.
The deal would give Mitsubishi a cash injection while Peugeot would tap Mitsubishi's expertise in electric vehicles and its network in emerging countries, it said.
The move would effectively place Mitsubishi under Peugeot's control but Mitsubishi may also take an equity stake in Peugeot, the paper said.
It would create the world's sixth-largest automobile alliance with combined sales of roughly 4.45 million vehicles in 2008, behind Ford Motor of the United States but ahead of Hyundai Motor of South Korea, it said.
Peugeot Citroen ranked eighth and Mitsubishi 15th in terms of global sales of new vehicles in 2008, it said.
If the deal goes through, it would be the first investment in a major Japanese automaker by an overseas rival since France's Renault took a stake in Nissan in 1999.
No immediate comment was available from Mitsubishi on the report.
