Aug. 31, 2015—The CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Sergio Marchionne, is once again promoting the idea of a merger with General Motors, according to a report by USA Today.
Marchionne sent an email earlier this year to GM CEO Mary Barra who stated that she had no interest in exploring the possibility.
"We already have scale and we are leveraging that scale," Barra said in June, according to USA Today. "When you look at the last several years we have been merging with ourselves."
It appeared that Marchionne was backing away from the idea after that, but in an article published by Automotive News, he seems to be back at it.
"Look, the combined entity can make $30 billion a year in cash. Thirty. Just think about that [expletive] number," Marchionne said to Automotive News. "In steady-state environments, it'll make me $28 to $30 billion.”
Marchionne said that the discussion of the potential cost savings cannot be avoided, but he stopped short of saying he would pursue a hostile deal with GM.
GM has said that it has already reviewed Marchionne’s proposal.
"Our management and board are always working to maximize shareholder value. After we completed a thorough review of a possible merger with FCA, we concluded that executing our current plan is the best way to create value for GM stockholders," GM said in an emailed statement, according to USA Today.
