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Japanese automakers Nissan Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. confirmed Wednesday that they are discussing closer collaboration but denied reports they have decided on a merger.
Nissan’s share price soared more than 22% after reports citing unnamed sources said it might merge with Honda to form the world’s third-largest automaking group.
Trading in Nissan’s shares was suspended but then resumed after the companies issued a statement that said they were “considering various possibilities for future collaboration, but no decisions have been made.”
Honda’s share price sank 2.3%.
Nissan has an alliance with Renault SA that is under review. It recently announced it was slashing its headcount by 9,000 and cutting its global production by a fifth due to weaker sales in China and the U.S.
Honda, Japan’s second-largest automaker, and Nissan, the third-largest, agreed in March to study a strategic partnership for making electric vehicles.
Joining forces would help the two companies gain larger scale to compete with market leader Toyota Motor Corp. and with Germany’s Volkswagen AG.
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