DETROIT – General Motors Corp. appeared headed toward a record-short escape from bankruptcy protection Thursday despite a last-minute appeal that a legal expert said was unlikely to stand in the way.
A bankruptcy judge's order approving the sale of most of GM's assets to a new company was to go into effect at noon. An appeal was filed just before the deadline by plaintiffs in an Arizona product liability lawsuit against the automaker. It was unclear if the appeal delayed the sale approval.
When it exits bankruptcy, GM, once the world's largest and most powerful automaker, will be a leaner and greener company, cleansed of debts and burdensome contracts that nearly dragged it into liquidation.
But it faces brutal international competition and the worst auto sales market in more than 25 years.
John Pottow, a University of Michigan Law School professor who specializes in bankruptcy, said opponents have little legal recourse to block the sale because their issues were shot down by higher courts in Chrysler's bankruptcy case.
"It's done," Pottow said. "I knew they were dead as soon as the Chrysler case was decided."
He expects GM to close the deal and emerge from bankruptcy on Thursday in 39 days, a record for a company its size, he said.
GM lawyers were preparing documents to close the sale as quickly as possible, but company spokesman Tom Wilkinson said he could not give a time frame.

After overseeing the bankruptcies of Chrysler and General Motors, Steven Rattner, the head of President Obama’s auto task force, has resigned. Ron Bloom, a former steelworker official, will take over Rattner’s post.

The Obama administration announced on Monday that Rattner had resigned to return to his family life in New York, but the former Car Czar was facing an investigation into a possible investment scandal. Although details remain scarce, Rattner recently became the target of an investigation involving a state pension fund that provides benefits to more than 1 million government employees, according to the Associated Press.

Additionally, it was revealed in May that Rattner was an investor in Cerberus Capital Management, the former – and then-owner – of Chrysler.

Despite the dark clouds, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner had nothing to say but good words about Rattner’s work. “We are extremely grateful to Steve for his efforts in helping strengthen GM and Chrysler, recapitalize GMAC and support the American auto industry,” Geithner said in a statement. “I hope that he takes another opportunity to bring his unique skills to government service in the future.”

Bloom will take over immediately, overseeing the government’s control over Chrysler and GM and its eventual exit as owners

Aug 26, 2009

David Olive

General Motors Co. appears determined to sabotage its survival prospects by clinging to a global empire when it should be focusing on a comeback in its core North American market.

Overruling GM's CEO and top management, GM's board last Friday rejected yet another revised bid for its principal European business, German-based Adam Opel GmbH. The bidder, a consortium led by Canadian auto-parts maker Magna International Inc., has strong local backing to buy Opel. Its bid is heavily favoured by Berlin, by the four German states in which Opel has plants and by Opel's unions.

As a condition of the company's bailout earlier this year by Washington, Ottawa and Queen's Park, GM was required to shed its Saturn, Saab and Hummer brands and kill its Pontiac division. With its share of the lucrative North American market having shrunk to about 19 per cent, from some 50 per cent in 1980, the unspoken assumption was that the "new GM" would focus on that market. And on its key brand, Chevrolet, which accounts for more than 90 per cent of GM's North American revenues.

Instead, GM appears determined to hang on to its imperial past. The company is haggling with the purported buyer it has found for Saab over technology and patents that GM refuses to give up. The beleaguered Detroit automaker still owns far-flung operations in Australia and South Korea; it has joint ventures to sell Buicks in China and Chevrolets in Russia.

GM has drawn out the sale of Opel for months, loath to surrender its significant presence in Europe, though yesterday its chief negotiator insisted GM still wants to sell the subsidiary. Talks with the German government on the sale continue this week.

Meanwhile, in North America, the world's largest and most profitable auto market, GM has been losing still more market share to a revitalized Ford Motor Co. that has shed all but its Volvo unit (which is on the auction block) to focus on the Ford brand. GM also will soon come under attack in its weak spot of small cars by the new Fiat-Chrysler alliance and a looming invasion of ultra-cheap Indian and Chinese subcompacts.

Yet instead of reversing Chevrolet's gradual decline, the board of the "new GM" seems eager to maintain a crippling tradition in stretching limited resources over too many brands and markets.

Opel is the most prominent example. GM fears Magna will use Opel's technology to emerge as a strong competitor to it, most likely in Russia. Russia is expected to eclipse Germany as Europe's largest market post-recession. So GM has been playing footsie with Magna and a Belgian-based bidder, RHJ International, to see which of the two will let it hang on to Opel's technology and patents. As with Saab, GM is trying to negotiate a non-sale sale, if you get the picture.

Never mind that Magna's proposal lets GM retain 35 per cent of Opel, giving it the luxury of letting Magna and its Russian partners do the heavy lifting of fixing Opel.

Opel has been a money-loser since long before the global recession, due to heightened competition from Europe and Asia.

Yet if it can't make a deal to its liking with either of Opel's bidders, GM is working up a plan to raise $4 billion (U.S.) to keep and refinance Opel itself. But with plants in five countries, and strike-prone unions, Opel is a handful when GM should be focused like a laser on North America. Opel's pro-Magna unions already are threatening to rescind the $100 million or so in vacation pay they offered to give up as part of an Opel rescue.

Budging the North American market-share needle just one percentage point at Chevrolet would gain more profit for GM than the earnings generated by all its global operations put together. And the $58 billion (U.S.) that the U.S., Canada and Ontario invested in GM is intended to protect jobs in North America, not among GM's distracting offshore operations.

At this admittedly early stage, GM isn't following a comeback script. It's still wearing a suit three sizes too big. And it's suffering a debilitating split between its board and top management.

Despite Washington's 60 per cent stake in GM, U.S. President Barack Obama is determined not to be seen micromanaging the firm.

Ottawa and Queen's Park don't suffer the same "optics" problem. For the sake of southern Ontario workers at GM and its suppliers, Stephen Harper and Dalton McGuinty need to have a talk with Obama about automaker's urgent need for a genuine turnaround strategy.

DETROIT —
General Motors Co. says it's shutting down the Saturn brand after an agreement with Penske Automotive Group Inc. to acquire the unit fell apart.

Penske, citing concerns about whether GM could continue to supply vehicles after a manufacturing contract with the automaker ran out, ended talks with GM Wednesday to acquire the brand.

GM CEO Fritz Henderson said in statement that Saturn and its dealership network will be phased out.

In a statement, the Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based auto retailer says an agreement with another manufacturer to continue producing Saturn vehicles after GM stopped making them fell through, leading Penske to terminate talks with GM.

In June, Penske agreed to take over the Saturn brand and related dealerships. GM agreed to produce the vehicle for a limited period of time.

With Hummer and Saab sold off — and Pontiac and Saturn shuttered — General Motors is on a roll with its brand reduction strategy. But Opel, GM’s German subsidiary, won’t be joining either list. Late Tuesday, GM announced it has cancelled plans to sell Opel and will instead keep the company as part of its global lineup.


In a media release, GM said its board of directors decided to retain Opel and subsequently “initiate a restructuring of its European operations in earnest.”

The automaker cited “an improving business environment” and “importance of Opel-Vauxhall to GM’s global strategy” as reasons for the decision.

“GM will soon present its restructuring plan to Germany and other governments and hopes for its favorable consideration,” said GM CEO Fritz Henderson. “We understand the complexity and length of this issue has been draining for all involved. However, from the outset, our goal has been to secure the best long term solution for our customers, employee, suppliers, and dealers, which is reflected in the decision reached today. This was deemed to be the most stable and least costly approach for securing Opel/Vauxhall’s long-term future.”

The GM plan entails restructuring expenses of about €3 billion.

“While strained, the business environment in Europe has improved,” Henderson said. “At the same time, GM’s overall financial health and stability have improved significantly over the past few months, giving us confidence that the European business can be successfully restructured. We are grateful for the hard work of the German and other EU governments in navigating this difficult economic period. We’re also appreciative of the effort put forward by Magna and its partners in Russia in trying to reach an equitable agreement.”