The Detroit News - The U.S. government may not be selling, but General Motors Co. CEO Dan Akerson is buying.
The U.S. Treasury is waiting to sell off its 26.5 percent stake in GM until at least August, and may not relinquish all of its shares until 2012, two people briefed on the matter said Thursday.
But Akerson, who has headed the company since Sept. 1, bought nearly $1 million worth of GM stock as a personal investment, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing Thursday.
The 62-year-old executive purchased 30,000 shares Wednesday at $31.33 for a total transaction price of $939,900, according to the filing.
GM spokesman Jim Cain confirmed the purchase, but declined to elaborate, saying the "investment speaks for itself."
The U.S. Treasury is free to sell its remaining 500 million GM shares after a so-called lockup period expires May 22. But the people briefed on the matter said the government will wait for GM's second-quarter earnings report, likely in August.
By that time, GM also will have a new status under securities rules that will make it easier to hold a second stock offering.
The Treasury sold a first round of GM stock in November as part of the automaker's initial public offering, which became the largest IPO in history.
The government plans to exit GM over at least two additional stock sales, the knowledgeable people said Thursday. The government has no plans to sell any of its shares back to GM.
The Treasury took a 61 percent stake in GM in exchange for $49.5 billion in emergency aid during the 2009 bankruptcy.
Akerson, speaking to reporters in New York last month, downplayed the company's eagerness to see the Treasury's exit.
"They will tell us when they are getting out," he said. "I don't know what's going to go into their calculus. I think there are many, many variables in their consideration, and they don't share that with us."
Early this year, former auto czar Ron Bloom said the government was "determined to exit as soon as practicable."
The Treasury's decision to hold off on a sale reflects concern about GM's stock price, which in the last few months has fallen below the IPO price of $33 a share. GM closed Thursday at $31.32, up 12 cents, or 38 percent, on the New York Stock Exchange.
At current stock prices, the Treasury would lose $9.5 billion on the GM bailout.
The automaker reported a $3.2 billion profit for the first quarter, fueled largely by $1.5 billion in one-time items, including the sale of former parts supplier Delphi Automotive LLC.
But analysts were largely disappointed in the automaker's North American performance in the period, when the company spent heavily on marketing and sales incentives to lure buyers.
Still, many on Wall Street consider GM shares a good buy, with U.S. auto sales rising and the company's models selling well.
"When the government completely exits GM, that will have a big lift," said David Cole, chairman emeritus of the Center for Automotive Research.
With this week's stock purchase, Akerson holds 50,000 GM shares, worth $1.6 million at Thursday's closing price.
His $9 million annual pay package includes $1.7 million in cash, and $7.3 million in stock-based compensation.
