GM shares soar, Treasury to sell full stake
GM shares soar as Treasury plans to sell remaining stake in automaker
DETROIT (AP) -- GM shares jumped 9 percent in premarket trading on news that it will shed the stigma of being partly owned by the government within the next 15 months.
The automaker will buy back 200 million shares of its stock from the U.S. Treasury for $27.50 apiece, or $5.5 billion. And the government, in turn, plans to sell its 300 million shares on the open market starting in January, and be completely removed by early 2014 or sooner.
Shares are up $2.29 to $27.78 before the opening bell.
The government got its shares of the company as part of a $49.5 billion bailout of GM that began nearly four years ago. The bailout that saved GM from collapsing into financial ruin.
