"We believe that General Motor's participation in a global alliance with Renault and Nissan would have enabled GM to realise substantial synergies and cost savings," the company said in a statement. The parties began negotiations in mid-July after the idea of tripartite alliance was brought up by Kerkorian, when he met in June with Carlos Ghosn, head of Nissan and Renault. According to Nissan and other sources, the three auto makers have discussed a scenario beyond the business alliance in which Renault and Nissan make a large investment in GM.