(Bloomberg) -- Renault SA is expected to give preliminary approval to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s merger proposal as soon as next week after briefing the French carmaker’s two Japanese partners, according to people familiar with the matter.
Renault aims to convene a board meeting to move forward with the plan to create the world’s third-biggest automaker, based on a timetable agreed upon during negotiations with Fiat last week, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the details are confidential.
Jean-Dominique Senard, the Renault chairman who would become chief executive officer of the enlarged auto group, will attend a scheduled monthly meeting Wednesday morning in Japan for the board overseeing the alliance among Renault, Nissan Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. He will seek to explain the rationale of the transaction to the partners.
While Fiat Chrysler and Renault aren’t seeking a merger with Nissan for now, the companies plan to eventually invite Nissan and Mitsubishi to join forces, the people said.
Representatives for Renault and Fiat declined to comment.
Both Fiat and Renault went through dramatic changes at the top last year after former Fiat chief Sergio Marchionne died and Carlos Ghosn, who was chairman of the Franco-Japanese alliance, was arrested in Tokyo on charges of financial crimes.
Now the two carmakers are moving on without the Japanese partners. Renault and Fiat Chrysler estimate cost savings of more than 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) from the merger, and an additional 1 billion euros in savings for Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors. Renault and Fiat made a combined 8.7 million cars last year, which would vault the pair past South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group and Detroit’s General Motors Co. The world’s two biggest automakers, Volkswagen AG and Toyota Motor Corp., each topped 10 million vehicles last year.
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