DETROIT: General Motors said it could meet with Renault and Nissan next week to consider the benefits of a tie-up as recommended by major shareholder Kirk Kerkorian. The auto maker has marked July 14 as a tentative date for the meeting.

GM has been facing growing pressure from shareholders and investors to review its business strategy in order to recover its loss of market share to Asian car makers. The management of this highly respected company is now being questioned about various business decisions that led the company’s fortune on a continuous downturn. Last month, Kerkorian who holds a 9.9 percent stake in GM urged the board to allow tie-up talks with Renault and Nissan.

The French Renault and Japanese Nissan have a cross-ownership: the former owning 44.4 percent in Nissan and the latter owning 15 percent in the former. Both the companies are also headed by one CEO - Carlos Ghosn. It is Ghosn’s addition to the board of a combined entity that Kerkorian wants. Ghosn enjoys a reputation as a turnaround expert and his skills are required by the ailing American auto giant. The two firms have been seeking a strategic alliance in the US.

The two firms could take a 20 percent stake in GM in a deal that could give Renault strategic production advantage and serve as a gateway to the North American auto market for Nissan. Analysts and investors remain divided on the deal’s immediate benefits for GM but agree that there could be great cost benefits in the long run.

CEO Rick Wagoner appears to have no choice but to go by the shareholder’s recommendations to consider an alliance with the two companies. The company’s market share is at its lowest in 80 years.

Corporate grapevine murmurs that certain members of the GM board are against the deal. These executives believe Ghosn’s presence in the new group’s board would likely result in them being sidelined from the decision-making process; they could possibly, even lose their jobs.

In a statement issued Friday, Wagoner said GM board would “enter into discussion with the managements of Renault and Nissan with an open mind‿. Expecting the tie-up to be complex, just like any alliance, Wagoner said the prospect “has to be carefully considered on its merits‿.

Kerkorian’s investment firm Tracinda said it welcomed the GM board’s decision and looked forward to the meeting next week.