Hyundai has been identified as the latest company to engage Fiat Chrysler Automobiles over a possible takeover bid that would bring the American automaker to the Korean auto giant’s side. According to the report, the bid is expected to take shape sometime this summer as FCA starts planning for the eventual exit of current FCA chief executive officer, Sergio Marchionne.

A merger between Hyundai and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles comes to us completely out of left field. Not a lot of people saw this coming, but a report from Asia Times says that the man behind the possible bid is Elliott Management principal Paul Singer. To those who don’t know, Singer is an activist shareholder in Hyundai with a stake amounting to around $1 billion. Singer’s ties to the auto industry also extend past Hyundai after tapping Fiat Chrysler chief executive of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Alfredo Altavilla, to serve as a member of the board over at Telecom Italia, another company he owns a major stake in.

There’s no specific timetable on when the bid is going to be extended, but the report indicates that it could happen sooner than later, possibly as early as this summer. The Asia Times report also said that Hyundai started looking into acquiring FCA after CEO Sergio Marchionne started using interest from other automakers, namely Great Wall Motor, as leverage to get discussions of a possible takeover started.

For his part, Marchionne has played a key role in looking for a potential automaker to merge with. Back in 2015, the FCA CEO looked into a potential deal with General Motors, with the General openly turning down. More recently, talks between FCA and Volkswagen started getting some traction until it was shot down over concerns that a deal between the two auto giants would be opposed in both Germany and Italy. It didn’t help that Volkswagen was mired in the middle of the Dieselgate scandal at the same time the discussions were reportedly being held.

Now, it appears that it’s Hyundai’s turn to be FCA’s rumored dancing partner. If a takeover does happen, it would likely still need the approval of President Donald Trump and his administration. But, seeing as the deal here involves a Korean automaker - a merger with a Chinese company would likely be blocked by the current administration —there’s a more optimistic chance that it could happen provided that both Hyundai and FCA come to a serious and realistic agreement on a possible takeover bid.

Whatever happens, though, it seems that FCA’s uncertain future is no closer to becoming clearer.

Further reading

Read more FCA news.

Read more Hyundai news.