Automakers Renault and Nissan make cross-shareholdings equal at 15%

Nissan and Renault have changed their mutual cross-shareholdings equal at 15 per cent, ironing out a source of conflict in the Japan-French auto alliance.

Renault Group will transfer 28.4 per cent of the Nissan shares it owns into a French trust, so its stake will be the same 15 per cent that Nissan Motor Co. has in the French automaker.

Voting rights would be neutralized for most decisions, the two companies said in a statement on Monday.

The move had been anticipated because of leaks to various media outlets.

The Nissan-Renault alliance began in 1999, at a time when the Japanese automaker was in tough financial straits. The disparity was a cause of friction, especially after Nissan became far more profitable than Renault.