French trade unions said they are open to the prospect of the state taking a stake in loss-making auto-maker PSA Peugeot Citroen but said the key question was the survival of local jobs and control of the group, reports Reuters.
They were reacting on Saturday after sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters PSA was preparing a 3 billion euro ($4 billion) capital increase in which Chinese partner Dongfeng Motor and the French government would take matching stakes in the troubled carmaker.
Under the draft deal, which Peugeot hopes to conclude this year, state-owned Dongfeng and the French government would each contribute 1.5 billion euros and acquire 20 to 30 percent of the carmaker, the sources who asked not to be identified said.
French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington would not directly confirm, nor deny the Reuters story.
"The strategy (of PSA) is defined by the management of the group, which declared it wanted to expand existing industrial partnerships, notably with two partners - General Motors and Dongfeng," Moscovici said.
Read more of this report from Reuters.