REPORT: GM close to offloading Hummer for as little as $150 million
General Motors Co., seeking to shed brands after emerging from bankruptcy, is near an agreement to sell its Hummer sport-utility vehicle business to China’s Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. for about $150 million, three people familiar with the deal said.
The parties are trying to reach a deal today, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the negotiations are private.
GM may accept a lower price for Hummer than the $500 million value it estimated in bankruptcy court documents to make progress on restructuring after the sale of the Saturn brand fell through last week. For Tengzhong, a deal would propel the industrial manufacturer into the global auto market.
“It’s important for GM to get some cash, without a doubt,” said Joseph Phillippi, president of AutoTrends Consulting Inc. in Short Hills, New Jersey. “Any appreciable amount they can get means more reserves, means keeping your powder dry until this economy improves.”
Tengzhong, based in Chengdu, China, said in June it was in talks to buy Hummer as GM plans to shed half of the eight brands it sells in the U.S. The companies said the deal would protect more than 3,000 corporate, manufacturing and dealership jobs.
For Tengzhong, a privately owned maker of special-use vehicles, structural components for highways and bridges, and construction machinery, buying Hummer would add a brand with cachet it can use to expand in emerging markets.
REPORT: GM close to offloading Hummer for as little as $150 million — Autoblog
The parties are trying to reach a deal today, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the negotiations are private.
GM may accept a lower price for Hummer than the $500 million value it estimated in bankruptcy court documents to make progress on restructuring after the sale of the Saturn brand fell through last week. For Tengzhong, a deal would propel the industrial manufacturer into the global auto market.
“It’s important for GM to get some cash, without a doubt,” said Joseph Phillippi, president of AutoTrends Consulting Inc. in Short Hills, New Jersey. “Any appreciable amount they can get means more reserves, means keeping your powder dry until this economy improves.”
Tengzhong, based in Chengdu, China, said in June it was in talks to buy Hummer as GM plans to shed half of the eight brands it sells in the U.S. The companies said the deal would protect more than 3,000 corporate, manufacturing and dealership jobs.
For Tengzhong, a privately owned maker of special-use vehicles, structural components for highways and bridges, and construction machinery, buying Hummer would add a brand with cachet it can use to expand in emerging markets.
REPORT: GM close to offloading Hummer for as little as $150 million — Autoblog
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