GM Expected To Not Be Publicly Traded For A Period-Obama AideFont size: A | A | A1:05 PM ET 5/28/09 | Dow Jones
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1:09 PM ET 5/28/09
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By Josh Mitchell
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--General Motors Corp. (GM) would almost certainly cease to exist as a publicly traded company for a period once it emerges from an expected bankruptcy, an Obama administration official said Thursday.
The company would probably spend about six to 18 months being privately held, with the U.S. and Canadian governments and the United Auto Workers holding the biggest stakes. The company would then likely go public again, said the official, who spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions.
The official said the U.S. Treasury Department's restructuring of the company is designed to allow the company to remain viable in the current, depressed car-sales market and become "highly profitable" if sales picked up.
"GM should be highly, highly profitable given the new cost structure that is being put in place, given the vast reduction of liability that has been achieved," the official.
He added that the administration won't make any final decisions on whether to force GM into bankruptcy until after 5 p.m. Saturday, the deadline for the company's unsecured bondholders to accept a new debt-for-equity exchange. -By Josh Mitchell, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6637;
joshua.mitchell@dowjones.com
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05-28-09 1305ET
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