GM, Nissan CEOs to meet in July: source
General Motors Corp. Chief Executive Rick Wagoner will meet with Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. and Renault SA Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn in Detroit in mid-July, a person familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.
The two CEOs will meet to discuss a possible three-way alliance under which Nissan and Renault would buy up to a 20 percent stake in GM.
The person, who requested anonymity, also said some GM board members have expressed support for the partnership to Tracinda, the investment firm representing GM's largest single shareholder, Kirk Kerkorian.
GM's board will meet in a conference call on Friday, where the agenda will include a discussion of the proposed alliance, a GM spokeswoman said.
Kerkorian, who sent a letter to Wagoner last Friday, urging GM to consider the alliance, feels Wagoner has been proactive rather than reactive in managing the automaker's turnaround, the person familiar with the situation said.
The proposal increases the pressure on Wagoner, who has taken on a sweeping restructuring of GM's North American operations which includes the slashing of 30,000 jobs and the closing of a dozen plants. GM lost $10.6 billion in 2005.
The automaker's board endorsed Wagoner's leadership in April. But Kerkorian's dissatisfaction with senior management could force Wagoner to provide more specific forecasts for GM's return to profitability, analysts have said.
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