GM announces IPO details

 GM announces IPO details
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Scheduled for November 18th

After months of speculation and debate, General Motors has announced details about their public offering.

While the specifics are a little technical, the IPO will include 365 million shares of common stock and 50 million shares of Series B mandatory convertible junior preferred stock. The common stock is expected to be priced from $26 to $29 per share, while the Series B stock will go for $50 per share.

Speaking of the latter, "each share of the Series B preferred stock will automatically convert on the mandatory conversion date, which is expected to be three years from the original issue date. The conversion provisions depend on the applicable market value of the company's common stock, and are subject to certain anti-dilution adjustments."

Overall, the IPO could be worth as much as $13 billion dollars. However, underwriters (aka banks) have an option to release an additional 54.75 million shares of common stock and 9 million shares of Series B preferred stock to cover "over-allotments."

If everything is approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the GM public offering will kick off on November 18th.

Source: GM

General Motors Company Commences $13 Billion Public Offering

Offer includes common stock and mandatory convertible preferred stock

 

DETROIT, Mich. - General Motors Company today announced it has commenced a public offering.

The offering will consist of 365 million shares of common stock to be sold by certain of its stockholders. The company will also issue 60 million shares of its Series B mandatory convertible junior preferred stock with a liquidation amount of $50 per share.

The estimated price range for the offering of common stock is $26.00 to $29.00 per share

Unless converted earlier at the option of the holder, each share of the Series B preferred stock will automatically convert on the mandatory conversion date, which is expected to be three years from the original issue date. The conversion provisions depend on the applicable market value of the company's common stock, and are subject to certain anti-dilution adjustments.

The underwriters have the option to purchase from the selling stockholders up to an additional 54.75 million shares of common stock and from the company an additional 9 million shares of Series B preferred stock, on the same terms and conditions, to cover over-allotments, if any.

Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan (representatives of the underwriters), BofA Merrill Lynch, Citi, Goldman, Sachs & Co., Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank Securities and RBC Capital Markets will be the joint book-running managers for the offering. Copies of the preliminary prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained for free, by visiting the SEC website at http://www.sec.gov. Alternatively, you may obtain a copy of the preliminary prospectus, by contacting:

Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated, Attention: Prospectus Department, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, New York 10014, telephone 1-866-718-1649, or by sending email to prospectus@morganstanley.com
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Attention: Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, New York 11717, telephone 1-866-803-9204
A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the SEC but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

 

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 teutonic9 teutonic9
"After months of speculation and debate, General Motors has announced details about their public offering." WOW, that's genius considering we the people already own a huge chunk of them as a result of the bailout.
November 4, 2010 10:02 am
 6SPEEDV8 6SPEEDV8
why one would buy this stock over ford stock which is $10 cheaper is beyond me.
November 4, 2010 10:20 am
 dbehmoaras dbehmoaras
You don't buy a stock simply because it's cheaper than another one. The whole point of investing in the stock market is to make money. In order to do so, you need to pick the stock that you think will gain value over time scale (or lose value if you're shorting it). The most immediate factor in the price of a stock boils down to supply and demand. Fluctuation in share price is pretty much dependent on the quantity of shares being bought and sold in the marketplace (there are other factors that affect the price, but I won't go into that). At the end of the day, supply and demand is king. Mathematically, a company's share price is defined by the magnitude of its market capitalization ($) divided by the number of shares outstanding. In other words, it is simply a ratio of the company's economic presence in the market and the number of shares publicly traded. Whether one stock is cheaper or more expensive relative to another does not really mean much. It makes more sense if you look at percentages rather than prices alone. Note: this is a immense oversimplification of a tiny piece of how stock trading works. There is so, so, so, so much more to it that takes years of studying.
November 4, 2010 11:22 am
 6SPEEDV8 6SPEEDV8
Well explained. I just started trading and currently have a stock portfolio that's gained around 20% in value over the past week or so due to some lucky investments, but I realize that the essence of stocks lies in the fact that they're nearly impossible to analyze and predict to a large degree of accuracy. However, I'll elaborate on my original post. You have Ford, which is going for $15.9 a share as of now and has also made some gains within the past six months. To me, they seem a much more viable company due to the fact that they aren't so heavily engorged in debt as GM currently is. Considering GM's debt, higher stock price, and relative volume, I see Ford as a wiser investment with more potential.
November 4, 2010 12:34 pm
 dbehmoaras dbehmoaras
Oh I agree that Ford is the better investment, I've owned them since January 09 and I still do today. However, GM seems to be where Ford was almost two years ago. I don't necessarily think that GM will explode like Ford did, but I do think that they will be able to pay back their debt which will be reflected back into its share price. I think that if the banks sell off their shares (which they probably will to take the cash from their stake in GM and do something else with it) it will be a good time to look into GM.
November 4, 2010 8:41 pm
 LeroisF40 LeroisF40
I wonder how they speculate that they can sell at this price?? I sold my shares in 2007 thru 2008 at a final price of $26 a share. The stock price was propped up by sales volume that they are no where near now. And as for the share price of Ford, it at least is validated by strong fundemental business practices. I think the Government is very dillusional with what they are going to open the IPO with. Just my opinion though.
November 5, 2010 2:42 am
 dbehmoaras dbehmoaras
Agreed, which is why I think the banks are going to release their shares as well, which will adjust the price appropriately. But it is also important to look at GM's market cap after the IPO, which will be about 10 billion, give or take a billion, which is about 18% of Ford's current market cap. The lower supply of shares in the market could help the price rise as well. I guess we'll see what the banks do.
November 5, 2010 10:51 am