Renault and Nissan declined to comment. The two sides have been in intensive negotiations since October when Renault CEO Luca De Meo went to Japan to meet Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida. Renault is looking for Nissan to invest in an electric-vehicle business it will carve out of its operations, while Nissan wants Renault to sell most its roughly 43% stake in Nissan to put the 23-year alliance on a more equal footing, Reuters has previously reported. The details of Renault's proposed protections for Nissan technology were not immediately known. Nissan holds 15% of Renault and does not hold voting rights.

---