The head of Taiwan's Foxconn said Wednesday that it is open to buying French auto giant Renault's stake in Japanese automaker Nissan, following reports last year that Foxconn had approached Renault.
Foxconn Chief Young Liu's comments come after a source told AFP last week that the Japanese company was in the process of scrapping merger discussions with Honda and opening the door to other partners.
The Taiwanese tech giant reportedly asked Renault to sell its 35 percent stake in Nissan in December, but was rebuffed before merger talks were announced
However, Liu confirmed on Wednesday that Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, had spoken to Renault about cooperation opportunities.
Foxconn is the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer and builds devices for major technology companies, including Apple's iPhone.
However, the company has been pushing to diversify beyond electronics assembly, expanding into areas ranging from electric vehicles to semiconductors and servers.
"We... talked about cooperation with Renault. Our main purpose is to talk about cooperation. Renault happens to have some shares in Nissan, and (we) discussed the shares," Liu said
When asked whether Foxconn would buy Renault's stake in Nissan, he told reporters that if there was a need to take over Nissan's stake to achieve the cooperation, "we will consider it, but buying shares is not our goal".
Liu also said Foxconn is considering cooperation with Nissan, not in the form of a merger.
"I don't think Hon Hai is in the process of merger and acquisition, but cooperation. How can we cooperate with this Japanese carmaker?," he said at a company event in Taipei.
He added that Foxconn has contacted several automakers, including Nissan and Honda.
Foxconn is looking to expand into Japan's electric vehicle market and Liu said in an earnings call in November that the company was in talks with "two Japanese automakers", with hopes of signing contracts in the next few months.
He said Wednesday the company would announce “good news” about its electric vehicle business in a month or two, but did not provide further details.
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