Nissan planning to acquire a stake in Defiance Technologies

Nissan Motors is planning to acquire a stake in the engineering and design firm, Defiance Technologies. Hinduja Group, which owns Defiance Technologies, and Nissan are said to be negotiating a deal with the latter acquiring a 20-40 per cent stake in the firm. 

Defiance Technologies was a key player in the development of Nissan’s budget car, Datsun GO. The Japanese car maker is reportedly impressed by the way the engineers at Defiance Technologies managed to keep the development costs of the car low, leading to the competitive sub-four lakh price tag. 

Ashok Leyland, a subsidiary of Hinduja Group, currently holds a 29 per cent stake in Defiance Technologies. Burdened under a debt of Rs 5,500 crore, the company has targeted reducing Rs 1,500 crore of this debt in FY14. 

When asked about its debt and this deal, a spokesperson for Ashok Leyland said, "We are looking at various aspects of generating resources to achieve these objectives and in the process many ideas get tossed around and discussed. Suffice to say we are committed to the goals we've set for ourselves and will be happy to keep you informed of the path that leads us to our objectives.”

Defiance Technologies provides engineering, manufacturing and enterprise (EME) services and solutions for automotive, aerospace, defense, industrial and general manufacturing industries. They currently have been handed the responsibility of developing another entry-level car for Datsun codenamed i2.