P.M. BRIEFING : Nissan Takes Control of Subaru

A former Nissan executive was elected today as president of Fuji Heavy Industries Co., giving Nissan effective control over the slumping manufacturer of Subaru cars.

Fuji shareholders approved the selection of Isamu Kawai, former president of Nissan Diesel Motor Co., a subsidiary of Nissan Motor Co., during a meeting here.

Nissan, Japan’s second largest auto maker, is Fuji’s largest shareholder, with a 4.2% stake, and its superior in a corporate grouping, or keiretsu. Japan has many such groups, bound together by cross share-holdings, other financial ties and common business strategies.

“Fuji would have been probably taken over if it were in the United States, and I’m sure even Nissan had difficulty deciding whether it should acquire it,” said Kimihide Takano, an analyst with Chemical Securities Co.

But, he said, Nissan chose a typically Japanese way, taking advantage of its superior position in the group to send an executive to exercise effective control.