Renault Pushes to Name Replacement for Ghosn at Nissan

Renault SA, which owns 43% of Nissan Motor Co., is insisting on its right to replace ex-Chairman Carlos Ghosn on the board of the Japanese carmaker.

Renault’s holding gives it three directorships on the Nissan board, one of which was held by Ghosn. He was arrested last month, removed as chairman and indicted on Dec. 10 for understating his compensation by $43 million.

Nissan has rejected Renault’s call for a special shareholders’ meeting, at which the French company could nominate a replacement for Ghosn. Nissan has appointed a panel of outside board members to choose a new chairman from among the remaining directors.

Renault tells Bloomberg News that it wants to preserve its alliance with Nissan and merely seeks to exercise its right as the company’s largest shareholder. Nissan also has said it wants to continue the partnership, but also wants a better balance over control of the organization.