General Motors sells Hummer

GM also says bankruptcy filing in the US is a "non-event" for its operations in the Middle East.

Hummer, a prize asset of troubled GM, has been sold, the company confirmed.

DUBAI // General Motors reached a tentative agreement to sell Hummer today, but did not name the buyer or how much it would be paid for the SUV brand. The beleaguered US car maker said the sale was expected to close by the end of the third quarter this year. "Hummer is a strong brand," the president of GM North America, Troy Clarke, said in a statement. "I'm confident that Hummer will thrive globally under its new ownership. And for GM, this sale continues to accelerate the reinvention of GM into a leaner, more focused, and more cost-competitive automaker." The tentative deal was also expected to save more than 3,000 jobs at Hummer dealerships and production facilities across the US. While the carmaker did not reveal the identity of Hummer's future owner, the managing director of GM Middle East, Terry Johnsson, told Reuters last September that two Gulf investors were interested in buying the Hummer brand. The announcement comes on the heels of the carmaker's bankruptcy filing on yesterday, the third-largest ever in US history. In 60 to 90 days, the car giant planned to re-emerge as a new, leaner company with the Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC and Buick brands, shedding the Hummer, Saab and Saturn lines. While GM's chapter 11 has major consequences in the US, with American taxpayers putting up US$30 billion for a 60 per cent stake in the company, it is a "non-event" in the Middle East, said Mike Devereux, the president of GM in the Middle East. "We are a self-funded, private, profitable company, as many business units outside of the United States are for General Motors," he said. "We will continue operating as usual." Under the terms of GM's bankruptcy filing, the third-largest in US history, US taxpayers will put up US$30 billion for a 60 per cent stake in the company. GM also planned to close 1,100 dealerships throughout the US, but Mr Devereux said all of its 150 dealerships in the GCC, Levant and Iraq would remain part of the GM network. However, 10 per cent of its administrative staff in GM's regional headquarters in Dubai were laid off in February, he said. GM was also in the process of selling off its iconic Hummer brand, but despite media reports, a final deal has not yet been reached, Mr Devereux said. The company had narrowed it down to three parties, but was now in final negotiations with a lead buyer, he said. "We hoped we would have concluded before the June 1 deadline, but these things take time; these are complex negotiations," he said. The managing director of GM Middle East, Terry Johnsson, told Reuters last September that two Gulf investors were interested in buying the Hummer brand. However, Mr Devereux said he did not know the identity of the final interested party, but he expected final details to be released in the coming weeks. [e-mail]