Foxconn Pauses Interest in Nissan

(Reuters) – Taiwan's Foxconn (SS:601138) is pausing its interest in Nissan (OTC:NSANY) Motor as the Japanese automaker explores a potential merger with Honda (NYSE:HMC) Motor, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Foxconn's decision follows a delegation meeting with Nissan's largest shareholder, Renault (EPA:RENA), in France.

Both Nissan and Foxconn have not responded to Reuters' requests for comments, and Renault declined to comment as well.

Earlier this week, Reuters reported that Foxconn, known for manufacturing Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhones, approached Nissan with a bid, which the Japanese firm rejected.

However, Foxconn has not abandoned its interest completely, preferring to observe potential progress between Nissan and Honda before determining its next steps.

A Honda-Nissan merger could form a $54 billion company, producing 7.4 million vehicles annually, making it the world's third-largest automaker by sales, only behind Toyota (NYSE:TM) and Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p).