General Motors is preparing its IPO filing to submit to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission next month. The move is the first step in launching an initial public offering, and will keep GM on track for a fourth quarter offering. GM is expected to submit its filing to the SEC following its second quarter results, which won't become public for another three weeks. The Detroit giant recorded a $865 million profit for the first quarter of 2010, its first profit since 2007, and is expected to again perform well for the second quarter. Should GM file with the SEC in August, it would be on target to have the IPO ready for launch before November. When GM does go public, it will be the largest such offering since the $19.7 billion Visa Inc. IPO in early 2008.
"We aren't commenting on matters relating to an IPO," Renee Rashid-Merem, a GM spokesman told Reuters. "We will launch an IPO when the conditions are right and the company is ready."
Continuing concerns among potential investors revolve around whether GM's customers and dealers would have financing options similar to that of its competition. Quieting the skeptics, GM announced yesterday that it intended to procure AmeriCredit, a firm allowing it to return to sub-prime lending and increased leasing. The move allows more customers access to GM products than before.
GM's current stakeholders include the U.S. Treasury, the United Auto Workers healthcare trust, and the government Canada. Once GM goes public, they are all expected to sell off an estimated 20 to 24 percent of their ownership in the automaker.
Source: Reuters
