General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner mentioned last week that, in addition to selling the HUMMER brand, other assets were being evaluated for sale, as well. While no other brands are likely to be sold off besides HUMMER, GM did announce this morning that it's selling all of its remaining stock in Suzuki. GM owns 16,413,000 Suzuki shares, which is about 3% of the Japanese automaker's traded stock. The value of the sale is estimated at $230 million, all of which should help keep the lights on at GM for an extra day or two if some form of government aid isn't approved this week by Congress.
Despite selling off its remaining interest in Suzuki, GM is still very much interested in continuing the two automakers' working relationship and may end up repurchasing a stake in the future. The giant American carmaker's interest in its Japanese competitor has fluctuated over the years, peaking in 2001 when it held over 20% of Suzuki's outstanding shares. In 2006, however, it sold 17.4% before today's unloading of the remaining 3%.
