Russia’s deputy prime minister on Sunday said his government could support French company Renault taking control of troubled carmaker Avtovaz, but will have to find other investors if it declines.
“If the Renault-Nissan alliance wishes to increase its participation to the point where it takes control, Russia will not be against it,” Igor Shuvalov said in an interview with Russian TV station Vesti-24.
Should Renault decline, “we will have to go to other potential partners and investors,” he said.
“The state is shouldering a substantial part of the debt burden by settling social matters linked to employment, but that means that all shareholders — Russian and foreign — will have to present an appropriate development program for the company,” he said.
Renault currently holds a 25 percent stake in Avtovaz, which plans to cut a quarter of its workforce in the face of shrinking sales in Russia’s first recession in a decade.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had earlier pressed Renault to take part in rescuing Avtovaz, maker of the iconic Lada brand.
Renault said this month it would hold on to its 25 percent stake in the carmaker and contribute to its restructuring, but would not take part in a capital increase.
Putin said on Nov. 5 that the Russian government would settle Avtovaz’s debt and invest millions of dollars to bail out the company.
The government would budget 38 billion roubles (US$1.3 billion) to cover Avtovaz’s debts, 12 billion roubles to build a new assembly plant and 4.8 billion roubles to create new jobs, he said.
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