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Nissan Receives Formal Offer from French Automaker Renault

16 March 1999

Nissan Receives Formal Offer from French Automaker Renault

    CARSON, Calif., March 16 -- Nissan North America issued the
following statement today on behalf of its parent company, Nissan Motor Co.,
Ltd. (NML), which received a formal proposal from Renault SA to acquire a
stake in the Japanese automaker, which would create the world's fourth or
fifth largest global automotive concern.  The statement is attributable to
Yoshikazu Hanawa, president and CEO of NML:

    "We received a proposal from Renault today, which includes the French
motor manufacturer's possible equity participation in Nissan.
    Under the global business reform plan announced last May, we are working
hard to improve profitability and strengthen our financial position by
focusing resources on selected business areas.
    Renault has, in particular, extraordinary expertise in product planning
and cost-cutting and it has recently significantly improved its profitability.
We expect the alliance that Renault has proposed will enable us to complement
each other and create synergies.  This opportunity will bring great benefits
to Nissan's future business operations, and will allow both parties to
leverage Nissan's renowned engineering, manufacturing and advanced technology
strengths.
    Therefore, receiving Renault's proposal in a positive manner, we have
decided to negotiate exclusively with the French motor company.  We will work
out conditions for forming an alliance in the days ahead so that a conclusion
can be reached by the end of this month.
    In addition, Renault's offer includes a possible equity stake in Nissan
Diesel Co., Ltd."