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STORY: Nissan has told Honda it wants to call off merger talks. That’s according to a Reuters source on Thursday (Feb 6). They say the Nissan boss met his Honda counterpart earlier to break the news. The Japanese automakers had said they planned to discuss integration under a holding company. That would have created the world’s third-largest car firm. But the talks have reportedly soured amid growing differences. Multiple sources say negotiations hit a wall after Honda said it wanted to turn its smaller rival into a subsidiary. Nissan has reportedly rejected the idea. There was no comment on the latest reports from either firm. Both would only say they planned to decide their next steps by the middle of the month. Analysts say Nissan looks most vulnerable if the merger does fall through. It’s been buffeted by one crisis after another, and is in the middle of a turnaround plan. Over recent years, its market value has declined to around a fifth of Honda’s. Such worries initially saw Nissan shares plunge, when it was first reported that the merger might fail. However, shares in the firm rose strongly in Thursday trade, up over 7% in the afternoon. Bloomberg has reported that Nissan will seek a new partner if the Honda plan does collapse.