Public offering soon to happen for General Motors as CEO retires

The last few years are fraught with peril for General Motors. Sequential years of falling sales resulted in GM filing for bankruptcy and asking for bailout funds from the government. The government mandated they take control of the majority of shares while the business was in conservatorship. The short time GM was in bankruptcy was not ill spent. Recently, it was announced that CEO Ed Whitacre, Jr. would be retiring, and also the General Motors is days from an Initial Public Offering.

Ed Whitacre the GM CEO is stepping down

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of General Motors, Ed Whitacre Jr., has just announced that he could be retiring, according to the New York Times. He had formerly been the Chairman of AT and T. Daniel Akerson, former executive at Nextel, will take his place. Whitacre will step down in September as CEO, and will transfer duties as Chairman to his replacement by the end of the year. Whitacre had planned to retire once General Motors was back in fighting shape all along, and had said so. It looks like that is precisely what’s happened.

GM posting profits

Last year, General Motors filed for bankruptcy and turned the majority of shares to the American and Canadian governments, and has seen its second quarter of profits in a row. GM made a profit of $ 1.3 billion for the second quarter, according to USA Today. In the second quarter of 2009, GM had missed a huge debt payment. GM posted a profit last quarter, as outlined by CNN Money, of $ 865 million. Things are looking up for the global automobile giant, after having to divest of all brands except Cadillac, Buick, Chevrolet and GMC.

GM IPO shortly to follow

To repay the Treasury and buy back the 60 percent of shares the government holds, General Motors may have to hold a public stock offering as they were de-listed off stock exchanges. Chris Liddell, the Chief Financial Officer for GM, hasn’t commented much on the subject. General Motors, in its new lean and mean configuration, may hold an Initial Public Offering at the highest price ever paid for stock in the company.

Additional reading at these websites

NY Times

nytimes.com/2010/08/13/business/13auto.html?_r=1 and src=mv

USA Today

usatoday.com/money/companies/earnings/2010-08-12-gm_N.htm

CNN

money.cnn.com/2010/08/12/news/companies/gm_results/