Fiat SpA (F.MI) said Thursday it has named Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (ISP.MI) and UniCredit SpA (UCG.MI) to help it spin off auto activities into a new company that will be listed on "major European financial markets."

Fiat is keen to acquire European operations of General Motor Corp. (GM) to merge them with its own auto unit, FGA, and with Chrysler LLC, in a bold move to tap government funds to finance a slim-down of the auto industry's chronic overcapacity through a horizontal merger between similar, mass-market brands.

"Fiat is pleased to announce that is has secured the support of three financial institutions in its current efforts to act as consolidator in the European car sector with the ultimate objective of carving out these operations from the Group as a Newco," the company said in a statement.

The three banks "will guide Fiat in all the required operations in the months to come," Fiat said.

Fiat said Wednesday it bid for European operations of GM, which include Adam Opel AG in Germany and Vauxhall in the U.K. GM has put its European operations up for sale to raise cash as it faces a possible bankruptcy filing in the U.S.

Its move to name financial advisers before GM makes a decision on its European operations shows Fiat plans to invest cash into developing the new company, and therefore will not rely solely on aid from the U.S. and German governments.

Fiat is not paying cash for Chrysler, and has not offered cash for Opel; it will contribute management expertise from its own successful turnaround and its fuel-efficient engines in payment. It plans to raise cash in an upcoming public offering to use to invest in the new company.

The other two offers for Opel, one from Magna International Inc. (MGA) and one from RHJ International Ltd. (RHJI.BT), rely on government financing. Magna has $1.3 billion in cash, net of debt.

-By Jennifer Clark, Dow Jones Newswires; 39 02 58 21 9904; jennifer.clark@dowjones.com