GM asks US Treasury for aid in merger talks

General Motors Corp, the largest US automaker, has asked the Treasury Department for financial aid to help complete a merger with Cerberus Capital Management LP's Chrysler LLC, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson would prefer any funding come from the $25 billion in low-interest loans approved last month for the auto industry to build more-efficient vehicles, not the $700 billion banking-system rescue, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.

GM executives have asked the Treasury to consider taking a stake in the Detroit-based company, said one of the people, though the government is reluctant to do so.