GM must pay debt, make money before IPO

[rickaren]

GM must pay debt, make money before IPO

Posted on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 1:27 PM EST. (Employee News)

General Motors Co. should focus on making money and repaying U.S. Treasury loans before turning to public markets to sell the taxpayer’s stake in the automaker, a senior government official said, Reuters reported.

Ron Bloom, head of the Obama administration’s autos task force, nevertheless told Reuters that an initial public offering could come as soon as the fourth quarter of 2010 if the automaker meets its recovery targets and the financial markets are receptive, the news service said. Bloom said the government had previously expressed concerns about GM operations but now trusts the directors and management to do what is best for shareholders, the story said.

“We’re done. We’re not saying what we think anymore,” Bloom told Reuters of the more passive role assumed by the administration since GM’s bankruptcy. Ensuring corporate independence at GM and Fiat-led Chrysler includes accepting decisions that may surprise the government or diverge from administration goals, such as production of electric vehicles, the story said. (Reuters)