Treasury Gets $11.7B from GM IPO

WASHINGTON - The Treasury Department got an $11.7 billion wire transfer today — its proceeds from the sale of 358.5 million shares of stock in General Motors Co.

The government's sale of about 40 percent of its 61 percent stake in General Motors Co., at $33 a share, generated $11.74 billion — and, as is standard practice, the sale closed today, three business days after the initial public offering of stock, The Detroit News reported.

The IPO receipts means the government has now recovered $252 billion from the Trouble Asset Relief Program, the $700 billion fund used to bailout automakers, insurance companies and banks.

"Our temporary assistance for the U.S. auto industry saved more than one million jobs across the industrial heartland of America and, like the overall TARP program, is on track to cost far less than anyone had first anticipated," said Tim Massad, the Treasury's acting assistant secretary for financial stability. "General Motors' successful initial public offering is another important milestone in our efforts to recover TARP funds on behalf of the American taxpayer."

GM's IPO underwriters still have the option to sell another 15 percent of the shares, or another 53.8 million shares held by the government. They have until Dec. 18 to do so.

If the underwriters exercise that option in full, Treasury would receive further net proceeds of $1.8 billion.

Ron Bloom, the Treasury's top auto adviser, said in an interview Friday that the government wouldn't encourage or discourage the underwriters from exercising their option to sell the additional shares.

In October, Treasury announced that it accepted an offer by GM to repurchase $2.1 billion of preferred stock issued under TARP; a transaction is expected to occur in December. GM will pay $2.14 billion for the preferred stock.