The American government, deep in hock, owns 60% of General Motors. GM plans an independent public offering (IPO) under the new leadership of Daniel Akerson, formerly of The Carlyle Group. Carlyle is part owned by CalPERS, a pension fund, and Mubadala Investment Company, a sovereign wealth fund from the United Arab Emirates.
Reuters reported international interest in GM's upcoming IPO. China's state owned car company, SAIC, wants a single digit ownership stake in GM. SAIC and GM have a 13 year relationship. Other "cornerstone investors" could include state owned sovereign wealth funds (SWF), many fueled by oil money. Ackerson is using his SWF contacts to line up investment sales meetings.
America's sovereign debt fund pumped $49.5 billion into GM, producing the nickname "Government Motors." The IPO could turn that into "International Government Motors (IGM)." What if public pension funds buy big in the IPO? Would "Pension Motors" sound any better?
