General Motors has turned to Goldman Sachs to help block a merger proposal by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), which itself hired Swiss bank UBS to try to join forces with GM, sources close to the matter told Reuters.
According to these insiders, GM signed a letter of engagement with Goldman Sachs earlier this week seeking advice on FCA. However, neither party has confirmed the report yet.
"It would be inconceivable for General Motors not to be talking to any number of advisers about normal business operations, but I'm not going to list the issues one by one," said GM Senior Vice President Tony Cervone.
In fact, nobody is saying much at this point. In addition to UBS, FCA can count on Lazard to advise Fiat's founding Agnelli family, who owns approximately 30% of the Italian-American carmaker. Apparently, any merger with GM would not include Ferrari since the Agnelli family wants to retain control of the exotic sports-car company and go ahead with a listing plan.