Nissan considers selling its headquarters to raise cash

The Japanese manufacturer Nissan is going through a complex financial and global restructuring phase that has led it to report multi-million-dollar losses and consider selling its headquarters in Yokohama.

According to a source close to the negotiations cited by Reuters, the investment fund KKR, through its real estate subsidiary KJR Management, is the leading candidate to acquire the building for approximately 90 billion yen (approximately 600 million euros).

The transaction, which has not yet been finalized, would include a ten-year lease, allowing Nissan to continue using the facilities as a tenant despite the change of ownership. The goal is to obtain liquidity without losing its presence in its historic headquarters.

The sale comes amid operating losses amounting to 79.1 billion yen (€500 million) in the April-June quarter. The result, although negative, was somewhat better than expected: analysts surveyed by LSEG had expected a loss of 123.9 billion yen, and the company itself had anticipated a decline of up to 200 billion yen.

Nissan CEO Iván Espinosa acknowledged that the company is still at the beginning of a recovery process, although he emphasized that cost-cutting measures are already showing progress. "We are still in the early stages of our recovery," he stated at a press conference, underscoring the importance of financial discipline during this transition period.

Nissan's difficulties are related to several factors: falling sales volumes, US tariffs, and the cost of a profound restructuring that involves plant closures and staff cuts. The company, Japan's third-largest automaker, has announced it will close approximately seven factories worldwide and reduce its workforce by 15%.

As part of this plan, Nissan confirmed that it will cease production at its Civac plant in Mexico in March 2026. Production at that facility will be integrated into the Aguascalientes complex during the current fiscal year.

The decision follows the closures announced in Japan: the Oppama plant will cease operations in March 2028 and the Nissan Shatai factory in Shonan will close in March 2027. These measures seek to ration production capacity and focus resources on the most efficient facilities.

The Yokohama headquarters case reflects the same pattern: divesting real estate assets to generate immediate liquidity while maintaining operations through a lease. The 90 billion yen figure offered by KKR makes the transaction one of the most significant in the Japanese automotive sector.