Report: U.S. looking for adviser for GM stock offering

GM Renaissance Center Headquarters

The Wall Street Journal has reported that the Treasury Department is interviewing Wall Street bankers so that they may advise the department on a GM initial public offering.

GM CEO Ed Whitacre said last month after a meeting with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geitner and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, that a GM IPO was a strong possibility for 2010/2011, despite having shied away in the past from the 2010 timeline put forth by his predecessor Fritz Henderson.

With first-quarter reports set to be released today, executives have said privately that earnings will be strong and that there will even be an operating profit. With last month’s announcement that GM had fully repaid the balance on its U.S. and Canadian government loans, top White House economic advisor Lawrence Summers has said that chances are high that the U.S. government will sell its stake sooner than expected.

The overall bailout investment in GM is expected to result in a loss, but that figure now is far lower than the one that had been originally proposed one year ago- less than $8 billion compared to $30 billion.

– By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)