Report: GM may buy back part of Delphi
Monday, February 09, 2009
General Motors Corp. is in talks to possibly buy back part of Delphi, the parts-producing arm it spun off in 1999, the Wall Street Journal reported today, Feb. 9.
GM has shouldered an increasingly large portion of the financial burden of Delphi's bankruptcy since October 2005, when the latter company first sought Chapter 11 protection.
Delphi's road out of bankruptcy has been especially bumpy since April 2008, when private investors led by Appaloosa Management LP backed out of an agreement to invest $2.55 billion in Delphi just as that company was hoping to close a deal for $6.1 billion in financing — a deal that was to have pulled it from bankruptcy.
Lindsey Williams, a Delphi spokesman, said this morning his company has been in discussions with GM, lenders and creditors since last April on a way out of bankruptcy.
"Delphi and GM continue to be engaged in dialogue regarding a number of matters related to our restructuring efforts," Williams said. "As has been the company's practice throughout these Chapter 11 cases, specifics of such discussions are not publicly disclosed and we will not comment on speculative reporting.
"As further progress is made in our restructuring efforts, Delphi will advise employees, customers and other affected stakeholders," he added.
Both GM and Delphi have closed Dayton-area plants in recent years. GM closed its Moraine assembly plant Dec. 23, 2008. Locally, only Delphi's Vandalia plant and engineering center continue to operate. Since 2000, Delphi has closed two Moraine plants and three Dayton plants, while leasing part of a Kettering plant to auto parts producer Tenneco.
The Journal also reported GM is planning further closures of assembly plants.
A spokesman for GM, Tony Sapienza, referred questions about Delphi to a colleague, who could not be immediately reached.
Regarding reports that GM is planning further plant closures, Sapienza noted that the automaker in December told Congress that further closures could be possible "in this environment."
However, he added, "We've made no final plans yet."
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or tgnau@DaytonDailyNews.com.
