By Maki Shiraki and Norihiko Shirouzu
TOKYO (Reuters) -Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co are set to forgo a Wednesday announcement of a deal to restructure their automotive alliance as they struggle to bridge their differences, three people familiar with the matter said.
In their discussions, Renault is looking to Nissan to invest in its electric vehicle business, while Nissan is seeking the sale of part of Renault’s 43% stake in Nissan to put the two partners on a more equal footing.
The French and Japanese carmakers remained apart on how to share intellectual property, the people, who declined to be named, said.
Renault and Nissan declined to comment.
Japanese television network JNN first reported the news on Friday night.
The companies have been aiming to announce the new alliance structure as early as this month, Reuters reported this week.
If more time is needed in negotiations, the companies could opt to meet a week later from Dec.7 and are planning to be ready for an announcement the following week in London, sources told Reuters.
The question of how to share technology and intellectual property has proved to be a sticking point in the talks.
(Reporting by Sakura Murakami, Maki Shiraki and Norihiko Shirouzu; Writing by Satoshi Sugiyama; Editing by Shri Navaratnam, William Mallard, Kirsten Donovan)