Over the last week, it’s highly likely that GM enthusiasts have (at the very least) heard the name Harry Wilson at least once. The former Obama auto task force member and investor is looking to secure a seat on GM’s board of directors and is pushing the automaker to buy back $8 billion of its own stock. Now, we’ve learned that shortly after receiving notice of Mr. Wilson’s plans, GM has turned to two investment banks for advice on how it should deal with the activist investor.
“We are working with a set of advisors including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley,” GM said in a statement to Reuters.
GM has a history of working closely with the two investment banks in question. Morgan Stanley assisted GM during bankruptcy restructuring in 2009 as well as its initial public offering in 2010, with GM President Dan Ammann being a former Morgan Stanley banker. Goldman Sachs, meanwhile, advised GM on collaborating with French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroen.
Wilson, 43, is working with Appaloosa Management and three other hedge funds, including Taconic Capital Advisors, Hayman Capital Management and HG Vora Capital Management. Together, the four parties own roughly 31.2 million GM shares which is the equivalent of 1.9 percent of outstanding GM stock.
Reuters said that Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs declined to comment.
No Comments yet