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https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/how-fcas-elkann-and-renaults-senard-drew-merger-plan
Many dinners
Looking for another option, Senard found an eager partner in Elkann. As talks about a possible combination picked up speed in recent weeks, the two men frequently called one another on their mobile phones and visited each other to discuss the finer points of a possible deal over meals.
Elkann, who spent parts of his studies in France and speaks the language fluently, is no stranger to the country's car industry. For some time, Fiat Chrysler had entertained a partnership with PSA Group. But the prospect of getting such a deal done proved too arduous. PSA would mean major job cuts and plant closings -- a turnoff for labor and politicians who will ultimately pass judgment on any deal. With France enduring months of violent street protests against social inequality, there was little appetite in the political elite to get behind job losses and factory closings.
In the end, the two sides could not agree, and talks fell through abruptly in mid-April, giving Senard and Renault another stab at forging ahead instead. Initial contact with Elkann quickly turned into a more formal conversation as both sides realized the complementary nature of a combination. Renault promised a fleet of electrified cars, and Fiat Chrysler access to the U.S. market.
It's a prospect that Fiat Chrysler played up when it made the announcement on Monday, touting the promise of joint annual synergies to amount to more than 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion), coming from areas such as purchasing power.
Code-named "Newton," talks quickly progressed over a set of dinners involving the two executives, who managed to get the accord worked out at a crucial date during which they agreed on main terms. With voting already underway for elections across large swaths of Europe in the latter part of last week, the parties agreed to wait until after the outcome of the elections. Both in Italy and in France in particular, the political stakes were high, with the rightist League party of Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini and France's Marine Le Pen seeking to solidify their positions.
The French government, Renault's biggest shareholder, quickly rallied behind the idea of the two companies joining forces. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire met last week with Senard to discuss the proposal, government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye said on BFM television Monday, saying that Europe needs to have what she called "industrial giants."
Salvini, too, who initially threatened to intervene, later gave his blessing -- but only after upgrading Fiat's no plant-closing pledge to a promise not to cut jobs, telling Agence France-Presse he trusts the deal "will safeguard every job in this country."