Italian automaker Fiat, which is taking over Chrysler, said Sunday it was talking with General Motors Corp. about acquiring the U.S. company's European operations.
Fiat said that over the next few weeks, Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne would be looking "to assess the viability of a merger of the activities of Fiat," including its interest in Chrysler, with General Motors Europe into a new company.
GM's European operations include the Opel brand in Germany and the Vauxhall brand in Britain, as well as Swedish automaker Saab, which GM has targeted for closure by the end of the year if it can't find a buyer.
Fiat said that as part of the process, the company would "evaluate several corporate structures, including the potential spinoff of Fiat Group Automobiles and the subsequent listing of a new company that combines those activities with the activities of General Motors Europe."
GM, which faces a June 1 deadline to reorganize its operations and avoid bankruptcy, has been seeking buyers for its non-core businesses, including Saab, Hummer and Saturn, and has said it will shut down its Pontiac brand.
Fiat, meanwhile, was said to be actively pursuing Opel even before the Chrysler deal was announced.
GM Europe spokesman Frank Klaas said the company had several possible investors, which he wouldn't identify, but said, "We are in very good negotiations with them."
Marchionne has said that Fiat, which sold close to 2.2 million cars last year, needs to achieve annual sales volumes of more than 5 million vehicles in order to flourish in the global auto market. Combining Fiat with Opel and Chrysler -- which includes the Dodge and Jeep nameplates -- would put the Turin company at or near that goal.
In an interview Sunday with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Fiat Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo called GM's Opel an "ideal partner" and a possible takeover by Fiat an "extraordinary opportunity."
A stand-alone Fiat auto group presumably would also include the Italian company's other brands: Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Lancia. Fiat non-auto assets include subsidiaries that make trucks and agricultural and construction equipment.
"They're going to be a global powerhouse, I guess. Who would have thought?" asked Erich Merkle, an independent auto industry analyst in Grand Rapids, Mich. "They seem to be on a buying binge right now, looking for cheap and distressed assets like Chrysler and Opel."
