General Motors has garnered a lot of value since the acquisition of Cruise Automation two years ago. Now, the automaker is quietly looking at options to maximize the company’s value, which could include an initial public offering.
Such a move won’t be for years, according to sources speaking on anonymously with Bloomberg in a Friday report. GM is reportedly waiting for Cruise to further develop its self-driving vehicles and associated technology before making a final decision on spinning off the unit.
At a minimum, GM could partially list some shares of Cruise. If the automaker were to completely spin off Cruise, the automaker would likely lose control of the company via an IPO, and perhaps more importantly, lose a brand asset as part of GM itself. According to the report, GM could offer 20 percent or less of the company via public shares to maintain control of the company.
Most recently, GM and Cruise Automation received a major investment from SoftBank. The bank will initially invest $900 million for Cruise’s continued self-driving car development. When GM does roll out a self-driving car service, SoftBank will release another $1.35 billion for a total of $2.25 million invested.
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Still waiting for GM to deploy self driving vehicles into their own business parks and even on the factory floor…