GM&#39;s Using Their IPO To Replace The U.S. Government With Strategic Asian Investors

GM China

A leaner, and hopefully meaner, GM is preparing its initial public offering, after having emerged from restructuring.

Re-listing on the stock market will help the U.S. and Canadian governments offload their stakes in the company, which currently stand at 61% and 11.7% respectively. Yet GM hasn't only considered a listing in the U.S., they're also planning a listing in Canada, as a thank you to the Canadian government for helping to bail the company out during the crisis, and almost decided to list in Hong Kong even:

Reuters:

GM, which filed plans for a dual listing in New York and Toronto this week, as recently as several weeks ago was also considering listing in Hong Kong to highlight its growing focus on China -- now the world's largest car market -- and to attract the region's growing pool of investors, the sources said.

That plan was ultimately scrapped because a Hong Kong listing would have pushed GM's IPO beyond its targeted debut between late October and the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, sources said, asking not to be named because the preparations for the IPO are not public.

They can always do a follow-on listing in Hong Kong. It's a pretty smart move, helping to position the company as more than just 'America's old car company'. Moreover, regardless of a Hong Kong listing or not, GM's using its new IPO as an opportunity to bring in strong Asian business partners... which will likely replace some of its current government ownership:

GM is looking to leverage its IPO to further establish its presence in Asia and is considering using "cornerstone" investors -- investors who commit to buy and hold major stakes in an IPO, and who help attract more investors to large deals by showing they support it -- primarily in Asia, several people have told Reuters.

Give GM credit, while still saddled with legacy problems in the U.S., It's clever how they're using this IPO, a result of their previous crisis, as an opportunity to shake up their image and their strategy. It's a step closer towards becoming a true multinational company.

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