Nissan terminates sale of battery business to China's GSR Capital

The deal, disclosed in August of last year and reportedly worth $1 billion, involved Automotive Energy Supply Corp. (AESC) – a joint venture set up by Nissan and NEC to produce advanced lithium-ion batteries for Nissan's electric vehicles – as well as battery manufacturing plants in the US, UK, and Japan. Nissan agreed to buy NEC's interest in the business to facilitate the sale to GSR.

The Japanese automaker said in a filing that it would not proceed after receiving notice from GSR that the capital was not in place. It is unclear which GSR fund was backing the deal. With offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Palo Alto, the GP focuses on electric vehicles, new energy, modern agriculture, healthcare and wireless technologies. Last year, it closed a $1 billion fund dedicated to investing in LED companies globally.

GSR said on announcing the acquisition that it would invest in R&D, expand existing production capacity in the US, UK, and Japan, and establish new facilities in China and Europe.

The private equity firm is affiliated to early-stage venture firm GSR Ventures, renminbi investment platform GSR United Capital, and overseas acquisition platform Go Scale Capital. Go Scale and GSR Capital launched a cross-border buyout and M&A fund in July 2015.

Prior to the formation of the M&A fund, Go Scale attempted to buy an 81.1% stake in Lumileds, Philips' LED components and automotive lighting unit. However, the deal was terminated due to regulatory concerns raised by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Greater China
• North Asia
• Buyouts
• Industrials
• Cleantech
• China
• Japan
• GSR Ventures
• Transportation