Details Fuzzy on GM IPO
A year after emerging from bankruptcy, General Motors has registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell shares in an initial public offering. Yet the exact number of shares to be sold, pricing expectations, and timing for the IPO have not been disclosed.
Still, industry experts expect GM to raise between $12 billion and $16 billion as the Treasury Department — which owns 61% of the Detroit automaker — unloads about one fifth of its 304 million shares, ultimately cutting its stake to less than 50%.
Analysts expect the IPO to occur in October or November.
GM filed for Ch. 11 bankruptcy protection in June 2009, and emerged 40 days later. Last week the company announced second-quarter earnings results — $1.3 billion of profit on $33.1 billion of sales. The strong financial results were tempered by news that Chief Executive Ed Whitacre would step down after nine months on the job. He will be replaced by Daniel Akerson, a managing director at the Carlyle Group, an investment firm.
