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After slightly more than a year of service, Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell is leaving General Motors. Liddell was instrumental in GM’s IPO — which was the largest in history, stabilizing The General’s financial operations, and leading the automaker through the first full year of profitability. Continue reading.
This article is part of the GM Authority Opinion Desk series, where you can see exactly what’s on the minds of the GM Authority crew.
As an ardent General Motors enthusiast, I have to admit that it was difficult to bear the news of The General filing for bankruptcy protection during the summer of 2009. It was even more difficult to see GM shed four of its eight U.S. brands, three of which ended up in the automotive graveyard.
Truth be told, I wasn’t as concerned by the bankruptcy filings as much as I was by the fact that GM would be soldiering on with half as many brands. As an open GM enthusiast, I had to endure all kinds of anti-GM sentiment and commentary (founded and unfounded). Everything from “GM is probably the worst-managed company in history, why do you like them so much?” to “Are you kidding me? Not only would I never buy a GM product, I wouldn’t even consider one!” You could only imagine my trepidation and general apprehension over being a fan of a company with this kind of public perception. Over the last year, however, GM has made some serious progress in the public opinion sphere.
One of the reasons for what began (in my opinion) a more welcome public perception of the “new” General Motors was its much-anticipated and very publicized Initial Public Offering that took place on November 18, 2010. But while the IPO was — for all intents and purposes — a success, it has a few controversial sides aside from the (all too) obvious “Government Motors” angle. Two of them, fact. What I would like to point out is that at least two percent of GM is currently owned by non-American investment groups, including Chinese automaker SAIC and Saudi Prince Walid bin Talal — each of them with a one percent stake in The General. I must admit, at first I didn’t know how to react when learning about these events. Now, fellow GM fans, should we be upset or — on the contrary — happy that this took place? Before you make a decision, let’s take a look under the hood and explore this topic in more details. Continue reading.
General Motors has confirmed the completion of a $2.1 billion repurchase of its 9 percent Series A Preferred Stock held by the U.S. Department of The Treasury. In total, GM bought 84 million shares from the Treasury at $25.50 per share – a 2 percent premium over the liquidation value.
The transaction, which was announced in October, brings GM’s total repayment to the Treasury to $23.1 billion – a sum that includes $13.5 billion generated by GM’s IPO last month, $6.7 billion in GM debt repayments, and $800 million from interest and dividends. Continue reading.
Saudi Prince Walid bin Talal
Looks like China’s SAIC isn’t the only foreign investor to nab a percentage stake in last month’s General Motors IPO. According to the New York Times, Saudi Prince Walid bin Talal has managed to snag a full one percent of The General by investing a colossal $500 million. Continue reading.
It looks like that GM stock is in high demand: in connection with the previously-announced public offering of common and mandatory convertible junior preferred stock, General Motors Company has announced that the underwriters of its IPO have exercised in full their over-allotment options. Continue reading.
Initiating Standard & Poor’s coverage of General Motors is a Monday report by S&P analyst Efraim Levy, who said his price target for GM is $36 (per share). Levy expects GM to earn $2.78 (per share) in 2010 and $3.62 (per share) in 2011; a multiple of ten was used for the 2011 estimate.
Levy said that GM can now take advantage of a bankruptcy that brought “reduced operating and borrowing costs and a greater focus on its remaining vehicle brands.” He also mentioned expected rising industry sales in 2011, which will be partially offset by higher raw material costs. Continue reading for a brief Ford comparison.
When General Motors held its IPO last week, it raised $20.1 billion, becoming the largest IPO in U.S. history. The sale significantly cut the government’s stake in The General to 37 percent, nearly halving the Treasury’s ownership. Continue reading.
Not to be lost among all the hoopla surrounding the GM Initial Public Offering is the fact that Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) has been able to purchase nearly a one percent stake in General Motors. SAIC, better known as GM’s partner in its main China joint venture, paid $33 a share for 0.97 percent of GM, totaling a cost of nearly $500 million. Continue reading.
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