NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of General Motors Corp. fell below $1 on
Friday for the first time in 76 years as the struggling automaker
approached a government-imposed restructuring deadline and a likely
filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Shares rebounded to 89 cents by late morning.
The symbolic drop comes just days ahead of a government-mandated
June 1 deadline to restructure. GM is expected to file for Chapter
11 bankruptcy protection by then, which would leave existing
shareholders virtually wiped out.
A senior Obama administration official estimated that GM would
be under bankruptcy protection for 60 to 90 days, longer than
Chrysler LLC's expected reorganization because GM is bigger and
more complex. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because
of the sensitivity of the negotiations.
GM's new road map, outlined in a regulatory filing Thursday,
would briefly send the automaker into bankruptcy protection, erase
most of its debt and eventually have it emerge leaner and
stronger.
GM offered a new debt-for-equity exchange to its bondholders on
Thursday as it sought to put the pieces in place for a quick
bankruptcy process. The offer would give the bondholders a 10
percent stake in a reorganized GM, plus warrants to buy another 15
percent, in exchange for retiring their $27 billion in unsecured
debt.
Under the terms of the new offer, the bondholders would agree
not to oppose a quick sale of most of GM's assets under Chapter 11
protection. A key group of institutional bondholders backed the new
terms on Thursday.
All told, the U.S. government would own 72.5 percent stake in
the restructured automaker after it emerges from bankruptcy
protection. A United Auto Workers trust that will take over retiree
health care expenses will get 17.5 percent, and the old GM,
effectively owned by the bondholders, would get the rest. The plan
made no mention of the fate of existing shareholders.
On Thursday, a person familiar with GM's plans said it was
"probable" that the company would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
protection Monday. The person did not want to be identified because
the plans were still under discussion with the U.S. and Canadian
governments.
Chrysler, meanwhile, was in bankruptcy court in New York on
Friday where a judge is hearing a motion on whether to sell the
bulk of its assets to Italian automaker Fiat Group SpA. Chrysler
has been operating under bankruptcy protection since April 31.