Tracinda Says GM Renault Alliance Would Have Produced Benefits

DETROIT, Oct 4, 2006; Reuters reported that Tracinda Corp., the investment firm representing billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, on Wednesday said it believed a tie-up between General Motors Corp. nd Renault-Nissan would have produced "substantial synergies and cost savings" for GM.

In a brief statement, Tracinda said GM's board should have brought outside independent advisers into the review of the potential deal, which was broken off on Wednesday after two months of talks.

"We believe that GM's participation in a global alliance with Renault and Nissan would have enabled GM to realize substantial synergies and cost savings," Tracinda said. "We regret that the board did not obtain its own independent evaluation of the alliance."

Kerkorian, who owns 9.9 percent of GM, had first urged a tie-up between the three companies.