China's GSR Nears $1 Billion Deal for Nissan Battery Unit
- Private equity firm pursues supplier to Leaf electric vehicles
- Hubei provincial government backing GSR Capital fund
China's GSR Capital Nears $1 Billion Nissan Deal
GSR Capital, a Chinese private equity firm with backing from the Hubei provincial government, is nearing a deal to acquire control of a Nissan Motor Co. rechargeable battery unit for about $1 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The firm is in advanced talks with Nissan about buying a stake in Automotive Energy Supply Corp., which makes the lithium-ion cells for the Japanese company’s Leaf electric car, the people said. The parties aim to announce an agreement within the next two weeks, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are confidential. The Hubei government-backed Yangtze River Industry Fund is contributing at least 20 percent of the GSR Capital fund doing the AESC deal, the people said.