The White House’s senior advisor to the Task Force on the Auto Industry has said he believed it was likely that General Motors would have an initial public offering sometime in 2010, but that it will take longer for Chrysler to tap the capital markets. Ron Bloom, speaking at an auto industry conference, said the U.S. government would unwind its stakes in the automakers “as soon as is practicable,” said Business Week. Public offerings in the automakers will allow the government to sell its shares in the companies to institutional and individual investors. It would be counter-productive, said Bloom, to start selling off the investment prematurely. “GM has lowered its costs and break-even to the lowest levels in decades,” said Bloom. Indeed, GM could break even this year, or come close to it, senior executives have said if the industry manages to sell 10 million vehicles or more. “Chrysler is undertaking a remarkable transformation, but it will take time for new vehicles to come out,” he said. Bloom also said that he thought the $8 billion the government pumped into Chrysler was enough to see it through. The U.S. government currently owns 60 percent of General Motors, and 10 percent of Chrysler.
General Motors IPO Likely for 2010, But Chrysler Will Wait Longer
Public offerings in the automakers will allow the government to sell its shares in the companies to investors
August 6, 2009