Transcript:
Conway Gittens: I’m Conway Gittens reporting from the New York Stock Exchange. Here’s what we’re watching on TheStreet today.
Wall Street is looking to put the chaos of last week behind it as lawmakers clinched a deal to keep the government funded through March. On the corporate front, the Nordstrom family is taking its eponymous department store chain private in a $6.25 billion deal. By doing so, it will allow the family to revitalize the brand without the scrutiny of outside investors and analysts.
Related: Nissan's financial nightmare is making its US dealers lose sleep
In other dealmaking news, it’s official; Honda and Nissan are holding merger talks to create the world’s third biggest automaker. The combined entity would be worth $54 billion, with annual auto production of 7.4 million vehicles. Only Toyota and Volkswagen will be bigger.
The Honda-Nissan merger is being done out of necessity. Tesla and Chinese automakers like BYD have changed the game, resulting in a price war that’s wiping away profits, and pushing low-performing automakers to the brink. Honda and Nissan will team up in order to better compete, reduce operational costs, share technology, and move quicker on new car development.
In a statement, Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida said “Together, we can create a unique way for customers to enjoy cars that neither company could achieve alone.”
This will be a complicated deal with many stakeholders having their say. French car maker Renault is Nissan’s biggest shareholder, meanwhile, Nissan is the biggest shareholder of Mitsubishi Motors.
Analysts say if this merger goes through it will cause a reshuffling of the deck, forcing other ailing players to seek merger partners too.
That’ll do it for your Daily Briefing. From the New York Stock Exchange, I’m Conway Gittens with TheStreet.
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