NSANY Nissan Motor Company Ltd (PK)

Some shareholders pile blame on Saikawa for failure over Ghosn; last ties are severed

By Sean McLain 

This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (April 9, 2019).

TOKYO -- Some Nissan Motor Co. shareholders called for the resignation of Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa at a raucous meeting where the auto maker severed its last ties to longtime leader Carlos Ghosn.

Monday's meeting was the first opportunity for shareholders to vent their concerns with management since Mr. Ghosn's surprise arrest in Japan on Nov. 19. Many questioned Nissan's assertion that top executives were unaware of the extent of Mr. Ghosn's alleged wrongdoing, which includes a charge by prosecutors that he underreported his compensation for eight years.

"You found this out when he was arrested? You are disqualified for not being able to discover this," said one shareholder.

Mr. Saikawa asked for shareholders' support to stay on in his position, saying he hoped to avoid disrupting a company already shaken by the allegations against Mr. Ghosn. "I never said we didn't have responsibility. The problem built up over 20 years, and we cannot correct it overnight," Mr. Saikawa said.

Shareholders voted to remove Mr. Ghosn from the Nissan board, ending his final connection with the company he led for nearly two decades. In his stead, they elected Renault SA Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard, who will take the newly created board position of vice chairman.

Renault owns 43.4% of Nissan, and with Mr. Senard's selection the French auto maker retains the full complement of board members mandated by its shareholding agreement with its alliance partner.

Mr. Ghosn, who was ousted as Nissan chairman late last year, says he is innocent. On the compensation question, he says he discussed ways of receiving more pay after retirement, but nothing was decided and so there was nothing to report.

The vote on Monday came after a three-hour meeting at which more than 20 shareholders spoke, often criticizing both Mr. Saikawa and Mr. Ghosn. The same shareholder who said Mr. Saikawa should be disqualified also called Mr. Ghosn an "outrageous monster." Reporters could hear the questions but the shareholders' identities weren't disclosed.

Mr. Ghosn was arrested again on April 4 on new suspicions he abused his position at Nissan for personal gain, and he is currently in jail. Prosecutors say they suspect Mr. Ghosn diverted a portion of Nissan payments to a distributor in Oman for his personal use. He denies wrongdoing. The arrest ended a monthlong period in which he was out on bail of nearly $9 million.

One shareholder spoke in defense of Mr. Saikawa, saying that if weren't for the CEO, "Mr. Ghosn would be enjoying a ride on his yacht." Nissan's internal investigation, according to people familiar with it, found evidence Mr. Ghosn may have diverted company money to purchase a yacht.

A Tokyo-based spokesman for Mr. Ghosn didn't immediately have a comment on the shareholder meeting.

Mr. Ghosn's wife, Carole, was with him at his Tokyo apartment when he was arrested earlier this month. She said in an interview the same day that prosecutors asked her to voluntarily submit to interrogation but that she refused. On Friday, Mrs. Ghosn flew to Paris. A family representative said she returned to France to encourage the French government to help her husband.

Write to Sean McLain at sean.mclain@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 09, 2019 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)

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