Nissan Just Snatched Defeat From The Jaws Of A $60 Billion Lifeline And Is Now Screwed…

Nissan just fumbled a $60 billion lifeline, and now it's back to drowning solo. The so-called "merger of equals" between Nissan and Honda is officially dead, not because it was a bad idea—Nissan desperately needed this—but because Nissan executives couldn't stomach the reality that they were about to become Honda's sidekick. Turns out, when one company is worth five times the other, "equals" is just a polite way of saying "know your place."

(Source: Giphy) 

Honda took a long, hard look at Nissan’s mess and decided, yeah, no thanks. ICYMI, Nissan has been in a near-perpetual dumpster fire since Carlos Ghosn’s 2018 arrest sent the company into a tailspin of corporate infighting, declining sales, and an identity crisis that makes Caitlin Jenner look stable. The company is still bleeding out from years of slashed profit margins, outdated products, and a desperate attempt to stay relevant in a world that no longer gives a sh*t about the Altima.

And investors? They saw this breakup coming from a mile away. Honda’s stock rallied 8% meanwhile Nissan’s stock got pummeled so hard the Tokyo Stock Exchange had to halt trading. Bigly bad. The reason for the implosion comes straight from the likes of control. Honda realized it was way out of Nissan's league and started pushing for Nissan to become a subsidiary, not a partner. And Nissan, despite being in no position to negotiate, threw a tantrum and walked.

(Source: New York Post) 

Which means Nissan is officially in a pickle of how to stay relevant. And given Renault—the dysfunctional ex that still owns 36% of Nissan—was actually open to the deal, Nissan now has to face the music and report to them on why they just shot themselves in the friggin’ foot. 

What’s more is the painful fact that while Nissan was an early player in the EV game with Leaf, Tesla, BYD, and basically every other automaker has lapped them. The EV transition is already brutal, and now Nissan is trying to go at it alone while cutting 9,000 jobs and 20% of its global capacity. Translation: Nissan is officially in survival mode.

(Source: The Guardian) 

On the other hand, there is talk that Nissan might look for a tech partner instead—maybe Foxconn, the same guys who build iPhones for Apple. Because if you can’t make cars people want, maybe team up with a company that’s at least in the center of their dynamic industry. But still, that’s all up in the air as of now.

In the end though, it’s clear that Honda just dodged a massive headache, and Nissan just made its own future even more uncertain. The only question now is how long it takes before Nissan comes crawling back to the bargaining table—or worse, gets picked apart by someone else.

In the meantime, keep an eye on this story and place your bets accordingly, friends. As always, stay safe and stay frosty! Until next time… 

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Stocks.News holds positions in Tesla and Apple as mentioned in the article.