Shareholder activist groups ask for Renault-Nissan governance investigation

Three shareholder activist groups asked the French market regulator to investigate Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn’s possible conflicts of interest and possible breaches of governance by the carmaking alliance.

Proxinvest, which advises financiers how to vote on corporate corporate problems, and U.S. activist CtW, put their case for a Renault-Nissan evaluation in a 24-page letter to the French AMF market watchdog.

The Renault-Nissan move comes at a delicate time for Ghosn, 63, whose pay package was rejected by shareholders in last year and deals with a new vote at a June 15 annual general meeting.

The letter, likewise signed by RAIR, an association of French pension fund trustees, information declares that Renault failed to notify shareholders effectively about a transfer of decision-making powers to its Renault-Nissan BV (RNBV) joint venture, or to appreciate the treatment for their renewal in 2012 for 10 years.

It likewise indicates possible conflicts of interest emerging from Ghosn’s different roles. He is chairman and CEO of Renault. He is also the chairman of both Mitsubishi and Nissan, where he also worked as CEO until previously this year.

“Our company believe an investigation is urgently needed to maintain the rights of Renault investors,” CtW Investment Group Executive Director Dieter Waizenegger stated.

CtW, a branch of the U.S. union federation Change to Win, has been influential in pushing Tesla CEO Elon Musk to add independent directors.

The AMF stated it had no instant talk about the letter. A Renault representative could not be reached for remark.