General Motors on Wednesday raised $20.1bn in one of the world’s biggest initial public offerings, allowing the US government to slash its 61% stake in the Detroit carmaker a year after its ­rescue, reports the FT. The US Treasury crystallised a loss on the bail-out, but at $33 a share, the sale achieved a higher price than initially expected and paved the way for a possible exit next year. President Barack Obama said the IPO marked a “milestone in the turnaround of not just an iconic company but the entire American auto industry”. The US government will raise $13.6bn if it exercises an over-allotment option, leaving it with 33.3% of GM. One official said the Treasury had not chosen between buyers but some brokerages complained they did not get an allotment to sell to retail investors. The NYT notes that the government may make another significant sale of its holdings next year and that it has reasons “to be confident”. Meanwhile Reuters reports that Ford Motor is to cut its stake in Mazda to 3.5 per cent from 11 per cent.

This entry was posted by Gwen Robinson on Thursday, November 18th, 2010 at 5:25 and is featured in The 6am Cut London (18 Nov 2010), The Lunch Wrap (18 Nov 2010) . Tagged with Ford Motor, general motors, gm, IPo, US Treasury. Edit this entry.