Mitsubishi Motors’ Mea Culpa Turned to $2.2 Billion Nissan Deal
- Chairman visited Ghosn for apology, expedited alliance talks
- ‘Hang on,’ Nissan’s Ghosn told Mitubishi Motors’ Masuko
Osamu Masuko, chairman and chief executive officer of Mitsubishi Motors.
Photographer: Yuriko Nakao/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Two days before Mitsubishi Motors Corp. went public with news it had overstated the fuel economy of its cars, Chairman Osamu Masuko visited Nissan Motor Co. President Carlos Ghosn for a mea culpa. It didn’t take long for talk to turn from an apology to a deal.
Three weeks after Masuko and Ghosn’s April 18 meeting, their respective boards signed off on an agreement in which Nissan will buy 34 percent of Mitsubishi Motors for about $2.2 billion. In purchasing the stake, Nissan will serve as a backstop for an automaker facing a mileage-rigging scandal that’s threatening its existence.