U.S. carmaker General Motors Corp is eyeing a stake in Italian peer Fiat SpA in exchange for the American automaker's European and Latin American operations, the New York Times reported on its website.

Fiat chief executive Sergio Marchionne, has indicated a willingness to give up less than 10 percent of Fiat to GM, the paper said, citing two people close to the negotiations.

However, GM executives are looking for at least 30 percent of the Fiat Auto Group, the people told the paper.

GM feels its Latin American unit is a bargaining chip in negotiations with Fiat, according to the paper.

Fiat and GM could not be immediately reached for comment by Reuters.

GM is running due diligence on about 10 bidders for Saab, after the first round of bids for the Swedish brand attracted Chinese automakers, European investor groups and private equity firms, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

Fiat, which has agreed to acquire a stake in Chrysler LLC, has said it wants to merge its car unit with GM's European operations, which include Opel and Saab, to create the world's second-largest automaker after Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T>.

(Reporting by Ajay Kamalakaran in Bangalore)

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