Nissan: Nissan Motor Company has agreed to sell its global headquarters in Yokohama for 97 billion yen (approximately $630 million). The property will be sold to a group from Hong Kong-listed auto parts company Minth Group. This move is part of the company’s efforts to strengthen its financial position, as the automaker is currently facing economic struggles.
According to people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the private nature of the information, the transaction will be managed through KJR Management, which is a Japanese real estate unit of the private equity firm KKR & Co. Bloomberg had previously reported on this deal.
Nissan’s shares, which will release their income report later on Thursday, rose by 3.9% in early trading in Tokyo. However, the stock is still down nearly 27% for the year.
Struggling with its worst financial position in more than two decades, Nissan has been running a major cost-cutting campaign, including job cuts and factory closures. Last week, the automaker projected an operating income loss of 275 billion yen for the fiscal year ending March 2026 — marking its first forecast after withholding earlier estimates. Closing its Riverside office in Yokohama could help reduce some of this loss.
Nissan said in a filing that Minth Group is the main investor in the 97 billion yen deal, which includes a 20-year sales and leaseback agreement. Nissan will make a net profit of around 74 billion yen from the sale.
Nissan stated, “The income will be used to maintain critical investments, as well as improve internal systems.” The company added that this transaction would not affect the operations or the number of employees at its headquarters. “This move means that the company is wisely using its resources and leveraging non-essential assets to help ease the transition during difficult times.”
Nissan’s headquarters was originally located in the Ginza shopping district of Tokyo but moved to its current offices in Yokohama after the new building was completed in 2009, the city where the company was founded.
Earlier this year, Nissan’s CEO, Ivan Espinosa, promised to cut 20,000 jobs and reduce the company’s global manufacturing operations from 17 sites to 10.
The struggling company has faced declining profits and significant debt, worsened by ongoing leadership changes and weak sales in both the US and China, coupled with an aging model lineup.
