Experts: GM bankruptcy is almost inevitable
- Source: Ce.cn
- [14:08 May 11 2009]
- Comments
For General Motors Corp., the task at hand is so difficult that experts say a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing is all but inevitable.
To remake itself outside of court, GM must persuade bondholders to swap $27 billion in debt for 10 percent of its risky stock. On top of that, the automaker must work out deals with its union, announce factory closures, cut or sell brands and force hundreds of dealers out of business -- all in three weeks.
This April 27, 2009 file photo shows Pontiac G6 and Chevrolet Malibu automobiles at the Orion Assembly plant in Orion Township, Mich. A GM bankruptcy is all but inevitable, experts say. [Agencies]
"I just don't see how it's possible, given all of the pieces," said Stephen J. Lubben, a professor at Seton Hall University School of Law who specializes in bankruptcy.
GM, which has received $15.4 billion in federal aid, faces a June 1 government deadline to complete its restructuring plan. If it can't finish in time, the company will follow Detroit competitor Chrysler LLC into bankruptcy protection.
Although company executives said last week they would still prefer to restructure out of court, experts say all GM is doing now is lining up majorities of stakeholders to make its court-supervised reorganization move more quickly.
"If we need to pursue bankruptcy, we will make sure that we do it in an expeditious fashion. The exact strategies I'm not getting into today, but we'll be ready to go if that's required," Chief Executive Fritz Henderson said last week.
The threat of bankruptcy, however, may be just a negotiating ploy to pull reluctant bondholders into the equity swap deal. In Chrysler's case, some secured debtholders resisted taking roughly 30 cents on the dollar for what they were owed, but most gave in after they were identified in court documents.
Henderson, who took over in March when the government ousted Rick Wagoner, said last week there's still time to get everything done by the deadline, although he conceded it will be difficult to meet a government requirement that 90 percent of its thousands of bondholders agree to the stock swap.
The biggest obstacle to GM restructuring out of court appears to be its bondholders, who have been reluctant to sign on to the stock swap when the government and United Auto Workers union would get far more stock in exchange for debts owed by GM.
GM has proposed issuing 62 billion new shares, 100 times more than the 611 million now offered publicly.
Even though the US government has agreed to back up GM and Chrysler new-car warranties, potential car buyers already view GM as if it's in bankruptcy, reflected by the company's steep revenue drop in the latest quarter, Lubben said. On Thursday, GM posted a $6 billion first-quarter loss and said its revenue dropped plunged by nearly half, largely because bankruptcy fears scared customers away from showrooms.