Treasury Pushing Back GM Secondary Offering (GM)

An article on Bloomberg says that the U.S. Treasury is going to push back the General Motors GM secondary offering, as the stock price has fallen below an acceptable level. The Treasury believes if it waits, the share price will rise, and the offering will be more of a success, both for taxpayers, and politically. The Treasury still owns a third of the automaker, and can file as early as May 22 for a secondary offering. Since shares of GM have fallen below the $33 price it went public at, the Treasury felt it best to wait. “The longer they wait, the better the return for the Treasury will be and for the taxpayer,” said Dennis Virag, president of Automotive Consulting Group in Ann Arbor, Michigan to Bloomberg. “The auto market in the U.S. is recovering, and it's a fairly consistent recovery. For every quarter delay in Treasury selling back shares, GM will be in a better financial position.” “We're going to lose money in the auto industry on net, but we did this for the jobs we were going to save, not to maximize return,” Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said at a Detroit Economic Club event on April 28. “We're not a private investor. Our job was to protect the country.” At last check, shares of GM were off 4 cents to $31.26, a loss of 0.13%.