GM to go bankrupt today
OVER 50 per cent of General Motors’ (GM) bondholders agreed to a crucial debt-for-equity swap last night, as the moribund carmaker gears up to file for bankruptcy today.
Bondholders cast their votes and agreed to the swap, which gives them up to 25 per cent ownership of a restructured GM in exchange for $27bn in debt.
Since last week, GM has been racing to complete a series of last-minute deals intended to help speed its way through a fast-track bankruptcy.
Senior executives are seeking to completely restructure the company, and it is understood that the US administration will own 72.5 per cent of GM when it emerges from bankruptcy.
The company is also expected to name turnaround executive Al Koch as its new chief restructuring officer, reports suggested last night.
Koch, a managing director at the advisory firm AlixPartners LLP, will be the highest-ranking outsider in GM’s management ranks and oversee about 60 Alix employees working for GM.
The group is also close to a sale of its Hummer sports utility brand.