Company CEO Rick Wagoner, speaking at an event in Ohio, said GM has received expressions of interest from potential Hummer buyers and is currently preparing data and other materials to open talks. The comments come less than a week after reports out of India, China and Russia discounted possible bids by potential buyers in those countries, casting doubt in some circles about the auction.
GM is selling Hummer as part of its plan to raise cash and refocus its resources on smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles. But the company is finding asset sales to be no easy task, earlier this week calling off a preliminary agreement to sell its medium-duty truck business to Navistar International Corp. due to economic woes.
GM is a motivated seller, and the smart bet remains that it finds a buyer for both Navistar and Hummer. But buyer concerns ranging from the impact of gas prices worldwide on Hummer sales to potential conflicts with Hummer dealers could easily stifle interest from potential buyers such as India's Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. or Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska's Russian Machines, keeping the final price lower than what GM might have initially expected. - Lou Whiteman
See Wall Street Journal coverage of Wagoner's comments
See related story from Deal Journal
See Corporate Dealmaker post on GM hitting speedbumps in its effort to sell Hummer
See TheDeal.com story on GM calling off its deal with Navistar
See Dealwatch: Autos
General Motors Corp. officials said Thursday they will soon open formal talks with bidders for the company's Hummer unit, ideally easing concerns that the automaker might be unable to sell the gas-guzzling SUV unit.
