GM to sell stake in Suzuki
Struggling General Motors Corp. will sell a 17.4 percent stake in Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp. for $2 billion, scaling down its share in an effort to gain much-needed cash, but the partnership between the automakers will continue, both sides said Monday.
GM — which is embarking on a massive turnaround effort after losing $8.6 billion last year — will maintain a 3 percent stake in Suzuki, dropping to seventh largest shareholder from top shareholder.
Suzuki, a Hamamatsu-based manufacturer of small cars, plans to purchase all of the 92.36 million Suzuki shares that GM will sell in a buyback program.
“Dana Corp. can pay its utility bills and some taxes and fulfill orders the auto parts maker received from car manufacturers before it filed for bankruptcy protection last week, a New York judge said Monday.
The U.S. operations of the Toledo, Ohio auto-parts maker were the latest in a growing number of auto-parts suppliers to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection because of a slumping domestic auto industry and rising energy costs that drove up costs of raw materials and hobbled demand for sport utility vehicles.
Dana supplies parts to General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and other automakers. The bankruptcy filing does not affect the company’s businesses in Europe, South America, Asia, Mexico or Canada, the company said.
“Education Management Corp., an operator of for-profit universities and vocational schools, said Monday two investment firms will buy the company and take it private in a $3.4 billion deal intended to help it add programs and expand into new domestic and international markets.
Providence Equity Partners and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners will pay $43 per share in cash for the company, a premium of 16 percent to the company’s share price Friday and 26 percent above the average closing price of the stock over the past 30 trading days.
“Paper and packaging company Longview Fibre Co. has rejected a buyout offer from two groups, the investors said Monday.
Obsidian Finance Group LLC, a private equity firm, and the Campbell Group LLC, a timber investment management company, said they offered to buy Longview for $26 per share in cash. The offer represents a 35 percent premium over Longview’s Friday closing price of $19.25, the investors said.
The timber company is based in Longview, Wash.