DETROIT --- General Motors Corp. took a key step toward its downsizing Tuesday, striking a tentative deal to sell its Hummer brand to a Chinese manufacturer while also revealing it has potential buyers for its Saturn and Saab brands.
China's Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. said Tuesday afternoon that it reached an agreement to acquire the brand for an undisclosed amount. Sichuan Tengzhong deals in road construction, plastics, resins and other industrial products, but Hummer would be its first step into the automotive business.
GM said the sale will likely save more than 3,000 U.S. jobs in manufacturing, engineering and at various Hummer dealerships. Tengzhong said it will assume GM's existing deals with Hummer dealers.
Hummer will keep its existing management team and remain based in the United States, the companies said. Tengzhong said it expects to expand the brand's dealer network worldwide, including to China.
GM said it has 16 buyers interested in buying its Saturn brand, while three are interested in the Swedish Saab brand.
Separately, the German government said Tuesday it paid out the first $425 million in bridge loans to GM's Adam Opel GmbH division. The loans are part of a deal to shrink GM's stake in Opel and shield it from GM's bankruptcy protection filing. Canadian auto supplier Magna International Inc. and Russian-owned Sberbank will acquire 55 percent of Opel.
Also on Tuesday, Chrysler said it is planning to resume production at the majority of its plants by the last week of June.
FEDS GET GMAC STAKE
WASHINGTON --- The government now has an equity stake in auto lender GMAC Financial Services after providing $12.5 billion in aid to keep loans flowing to buyers of GM and Chrysler cars, the Treasury Department said Tuesday.
The Treasury holds a 35.4 percent stake in GMAC after exchanging an $884 million loan it made to General Motors Corp. for that equity under an earlier agreement.
icon.
