Italian government gives FIAT the green light to purchase Bertone

It’s looking like Carrozerria Bertone S.p.A is close to finding a new home in the waiting arms of Fiat.

The Italian auto conglomerate, which has made news recently for purchasing car brands left and right, has been given approval by the Italian government to purchase the fledgling Italian coachbuilders for $215.9 million, which will be invested in a span of three years.

While Fiat was in hot pursuit of Bertone, it did face some stiff competition from a number of other companies that made similar bids to acquire Bertone. These included Italian entrepreneurs Gianmario, Rossignolo, Domenico Reviglio, the Chinese-based FAW Group Corp. and a Spanish consortium that appears to have kept its name under wraps.

Fiat’s offer to buy Bertone isn’t the first time that company has tried to purchase the coachmakers. Fiat first began negotiations to buy stakes in Bertone in 2006 but as it turned out, talks between the two stalled and ended up being scrapped a few months later.

Continued after the jump.