MOSCOW, December 12 (RIA Novosti) – The Renault-Nissan alliance and Russian Technologies state corporation have signed a deal on creating a joint venture to manage their holdings in Russia’s largest car maker AvtoVAZ, the companies said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The Renault-Nissan Alliance and Russian Technologies State Corporation have created a joint venture which will hold their entire equity interests in AvtoVAZ and serve as a stable, long-term controlling shareholder for Russia’s largest car company and the owner of the LADA brand,” the statement said.
Under the deal, Renault-Nissan will gain a controlling stake in AvtoVAZ, which is among the largest carmakers in Eastern Europe, producing more than 800,000 cars per year and employing about 66,000 people. Russian Technologies will have a blocking stake of 25 percent. Renault-Nissan President Carlos Ghosn will be made head of the JV, which has been named Alliance Rostec Auto BV.
Renault-Nissan will invest 23 billion rubles ($740 million) in the joint venture, with Renault contributing about 11.3 billion rubles and Nissan 11.7 billion rubles. Renault will end up with a 50.1 percent stake in the JV by June 2014 and Nissan will gain 17.03 percent. Russian Technologies will hold 32.87 percent.
Renault-Nissan currently holds 25 percent in AvtoVAZ while Russian Technologies has about 29 percent and another 20 percent belongs to the brokerage Troika Dialog, a subsidiary of state-owned Sberbank.