| |
Six GM
executives
dump
more
than
200,000
shares
of
company
stock
By TOM
KRISHER
AP Auto
Writer
Six
General
Motors
Corp.
executives
recently
sold
more
than
200,000
shares
of the
automaker
as GM
moves
toward
issuing
new
equity
to give
large
stakes
to the
U.S.
government
and a
United
Auto
Workers
retiree
health
care
trust
fund.
Four
group
vice
presidents
and two
vice
chairmen
sold
nearly
205,000
shares
Friday
and
Monday
at
prices
ranging
from
$1.45 to
$1.61
per
share.
GM
shares
closed
Monday
down 17
cents at
$1.44.
Spokeswoman
Julie
Gibson
says the
sales
don't
show a
lack of
faith in
the
company.
She says
GM has
disclosed
publicly
that
shareholders
run the
risk of
significant
dilution
or
possibly
losing
their
investments
in a
potential
bankruptcy
filing.
"They're
not
operating
with any
knowledge
that
other
people
don't
have,"
she
said.
The
executives
had a
short
window
of
Friday
through
Tuesday
to sell
the
shares,
she
added.
GM has
offered
bondholders
10
percent
of the
company's
equity
in
exchange
for
wiping
out $27
billion
in debt.
The
company
also is
negotiating
with the
U.S.
government
for a
potential
50
percent
share of
GM
stock,
and with
the UAW
to take
39
percent
in
exchange
for half
of the
$20
billion
that the
company
owes the
trust
fund.
The
remaining
1
percent
would go
to those
who hold
the
company's
current
611
million
outstanding
shares.
If the
bond
exchange
goes
through,
GM plans
to issue
62
billion
new
shares
and then
do a
100-for-1
reverse
stock
split.
Executives
selling
stock
include
retiring
Vice
Chairman
Bob
Lutz,
who
disposed
of
81,360
shares
at $1.61
each for
a total
of
$130,990.
Vice
Chairman
Thomas
Stephens
and
Group
Vice
Presidents
Carl-Peter
Forster,
Ralph
Szygenda,
Gary
Cowger
and Troy
Clarke
sold
smaller
amounts.
GM has
received
$15.4
billion
in
government
loans
and
faces a
June 1
deadline
to
finish
restructuring
or head
into
Chapter
11
bankruptcy
protection.
The
company
has said
it would
prefer
to
restructure
out of
court,
but
Chief
Executive
Fritz
Henderson
said
Monday
that
bankruptcy
is more
probable
with so
much to
accomplish
and the
deadline
little
more
than two
weeks
away.
|
