Misgivings expressed by Japanese government officials to their French counterparts led to Renault's biggest shareholder seeking to pause the merger vote.
Japanese worries about the proposed merger's effects on the 20-year old Renault and Nissan alliance may have scuppered the proposed US$35 billion ($51 billion) merger between Renault and Fiat Chrysler (FCA).
Sources have told Bloomberg Japanese officials informed their French counterparts about fears the proposed Fiat Chrysler and Renault merger could harm Nissan.
This led the French government, which has a 15 per cent stake in Renault, to seek more time for Renault to discuss the merger and persuade Nissan's representatives to back the deal.
While Renault's unions planned to show their opposition by voting against the deal, Nissan was never so forthright in its resistance. Instead, its representatives were due to abstain from the vote.
Despite these moves, had the vote gone ahead, Renault's board would have easily progressed the merger to the next stage: formal discussions between Renault and Fiat Chrysler.
The government's request for a delay led to John Elkann, FCA's chairman, withdrawing the 50/50 merger offer, stating the "political conditions in France do not currently exist for such a combination to proceed successfully".
In positive news for the alliance, Renault and Nissan have come to an agreement relating to the creation of new oversight committees at Nissan.
Renault had threatened to veto their creation, torpedoing Hiroto Saikawa, Nissan's CEO, in his efforts to overhaul the automaker's governance.
The two automakers have come to a compromise, with Renault appointees being granted a seat each on the new nomination, compensation, and audit committees.
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