GM, FCA Sign Financial Advisors to Evaluate Possible Merger

General Motors Co. has lined up Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to help it assess the effect of a merger with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, sources tell Reuters.

GM has rebuffed overtures from FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne. Undeterred, he has been lobbying GM investors about the merits of a merger in an effort to force GM into talks.

Reuters suggests Marchionne could even mount a hostile bid to acquire GM, though one analyst describes such a move as "beyond ambitious." A Reuters source estimates FCA would need to pay about $77 billion (€68 billion) for a successful takeover.

FCA, which is roughly half the size of GM, ended 2014 with some €7.7 billion ($8.7 billion) in industrial debt and €26.2 billion ($30 billion) in available liquidity.

FCA is working with UBS on its end of a possible deal, which would not include the company's Ferrari supercar unit. FCA plans an initial public offering for Ferrari late this year that would list 10% of the unit for public purchase and distribute 90% of Ferrari shares to FCA's own stockholders.

Marchionne argues the global auto industry must consolidate to survive the cost of product development, including the technologies to meet upcoming emissions and energy efficiency targets. Analysts say those burdens could overpower the company if, as many expect, the industry rolls into a sales downturn in the next few years.