GM IPO Expected To Raise Billions

General Motors' initial public offering of stock later this month is expected to be enough to take government ownership below the 50 percent level.

The federal government is expected to sell $7 billion worth of its stake in GM, bringing its ownership down to 43 percent. That's according to several reports and will be detailed in a GM filing, expected Tuesday.

All total, GM is expected to sell 365 million common shares at a price between $26 and $29 a share. The exact amount will be set closer to the launch of the initial public offering, later this month.

GM executives are expected to begin their road show tomorrow to try and promote the stock. The show will be aimed at hedge, pension and mutual funds, but presentations are expected for individual investors. Common shares worth roughly $2 billion would be sold to investors in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. That's according to three people briefed on the sale, who asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak on the matter.

Once the IPO begins, GM shares can start trading on the New York Stock Exchange, where the company symbolized America's industrial might for more than 92 years. GM was booted off the exchange last year as financial troubles sent it into a government-funded bankruptcy.

Copyright, 2010. WWJ Newsradio 950, All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.