Tag: ipo

Report: Bill Ford admits Blue Oval may lose investors to GM IPO, seems unconcerned

Filed under: Ford, GM, Earnings/Financials

Bill Ford dons sunglasses

Bill Ford, executive officer for Ford Motor Co., seems to be taking a fairly realistic stance when it comes to arch-rival General Motors releasing its IPO. While speaking at the kickoff of this weekend’s Woodward Dream Cruise, Ford said that he was certain that some of his company’s investors would likely move to GM, but he isn’t entirely concerned. Even though Ford stock has slid off from its 52-week high of $14.57 recently, the company’s executive officer said that he doesn’t spend his time fretting over stock prices, preferring instead to worry about steering the company in the best direction possible.

This week, GM filed paperwork to issue an IPO, thought to be one of the largest offerings in America’s history. Until then, Ford had enjoyed the privilege of being the only publicly-traded domestic auto manufacturer after both GM and Chrysler filed bankruptcy in 2009. With a new kid on the block, odds are some money is bound to move toward The General and away from FoMoCo.

[Source: Bloomberg, The Detroit Free Press | Image: Scott Olson/Getty Images]

Report: Bill Ford admits Blue Oval may lose investors to GM IPO, seems unconcerned originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 20 Aug 2010 17:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Report: Bill Ford admits Blue Oval may lose investors to GM IPO, seems unconcerned”

BREAKING: General Motors files for IPO

Filed under: Government/Legal, GM, Earnings/Financials

GM Renaissance Center Headquarters with Flags

General Motors, the largest automaker based in the United States, has officially filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an Initial Public Offering.

By offering preferred stock along with its IPO, GM is looking to allow the U.S. Treasury (and by extension, American taxpayers) the chance to reduce its stake in the automaker as much as possible. Unlike common stock, preferred stock carries both debt and equity, is rated by the world’s credit rating companies and typically has priority over common stock in the event that the company goes into bankruptcy.

According to Bloomberg, the U.S. Treasury intends to sell a fifth of its 304 million common shares as part of the IPO, which will make the government a minority shareholder.

If GM raises the expected $16 billion in its IPO, it will rank as the second-largest in U.S. history behind Visa’s $19.7 billion in 2008. The offering will be led by Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. Official GM fine print is available after the jump.

[Sources: General Motors, Bloomberg | Image: Associated Press/Paul Sancya]

Continue reading BREAKING: General Motors files for IPO

BREAKING: General Motors files for IPO originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “BREAKING: General Motors files for IPO”

Report: Whitacre says GM anticipates offering entire company in IPO

Filed under: Government/Legal, GM, Earnings/Financials

At this point, the only thing we know for sure about the General Motors initial public offering is that it will happen… eventually. With the United States government holding a 61-percent equity stake in the automaker, the political pressure is huge to make a stock sale occur sooner rather than later.

However, until GM CEO Ed Whitacre spoke at the Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, MI this week, the presumption was that only about one-third of the company’s stock would be offered up in the IPO. Whitacre, however, seems to be indicating that the entire company would be offered up in a single sale. The rationale for doing the stock sale in stages would be to maximize the return on the government’s investment. A single sale might result in a lower per-share price and lower overall return. By selling a smaller stake and then timing further sales with a hopefully rising stock price, the return could be improved.

Following Whitacre’s comments, other GM representatives told CNBC that the final decision would be made by the current shareholders, the U.S. and Canadian governments, the UAW health care trust and former bondholders.

[Source: CNBC]

Report: Whitacre says GM anticipates offering entire company in IPO originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 16:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Report: Whitacre says GM anticipates offering entire company in IPO”

GM shooting for mid-August IPO filing?

Filed under: Government/Legal, GM

A year ago, General Motors needed a $50 billion U.S. government bailout to stave off liquidation. One year later, the Detroit-based automaker is on the precipice of filing for one of the largest initial public offerings in American history. Automotive News quotes unnamed sources who claim GM will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission by August 16. These anonymous sources reportedly added that the goal is to complete the company’s IPO before the November elections – unsurprising when you consider the highly-political nature of The General’s current status (the federal government holds a 60.8% stake in the automaker).

Assuming GM files by August 16 as AN’s sources allege, the move would come just days after the company’s second-quarter earnings announcement. If that’s indeed the case, we think GM plans to announce a sizable profit for the quarter that ended on June 30. After all, there’s nothing more unattractive to investors than a fresh batch of red ink on the ledger.

[Source: Automotive News sub. req.]

GM shooting for mid-August IPO filing? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 24 Jul 2010 11:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “GM shooting for mid-August IPO filing?”