Sale planned of GM stock

DETROIT – The U.S. government and the United Auto Workers retiree health care trust plan to sell a total of 50 million shares of General Motors Co. stock this week, marking the next step in the automaker’s exit from government ownership.

The Treasury Department announced Wednesday that it would sell 30 million shares in a public offering tied to GM’s return to the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, which is expected to happen after the market closes Thursday.

The UAW trust will sell 20 million shares as part of the offering.

“We appreciate the opportunity to assist in this offering made possible by our rejoining the S&P 500,” GM Chief Financial Officer Daniel Ammann said in a statement. “Our focus remains on continuing the progress we are making in the marketplace with world-class cars, trucks and crossovers.”

The government is expected to lose more than $10 billion on its $49.5 billion GM bailout. At the end of the first quarter, the U.S. still owned about 16 percent of GM, down from 26.5 percent in late 2012.