Is the birth of biggest car giant ever in sight?

(Photo: fiatgroupautomobilespress.com)

Marchionne is reaching out to hedge funds and other potential allies to prod General Motors Co. into a merger, Wall Street Journal reports, citing the people familiar with the matter.

People at Fiat Chrysler and GM were not available for comment after the regular working hours, WSJ says in the text.

GM announced that it had reached an agreement in March with a group of investors on its balance sheet and management, stressing it would initiate the process of buying back USD 5 billion in stock in a bid to prevent the "authorizations war" with investors.

Marchionne appealed earlier this year to GM Chief Executive Mary Barra for a merger of the two companies, but that was not the only such talk that Fiat Chrysler had with other car makers, said John Elkann, the president of the Italian-American company.

Marchionne's contacts with activist investors have yet to land a patron, but a similar strategy could be employed with at least one European auto maker, WSJ stresses.