General Motors IPO Nets $11.7 Billion for the U.S. Treasury

The initial public offering of General Motors (GM) last week netted $11.7 billion for the U.S. Treasury, which invested taxpayer money into keeping the then-struggling automaker solvent during the financial crisis as part of its Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The Treasury said in a statement Tuesday that it sold 358.4 million shares as part of GM's IPO on Nov. 17. GM proceeds accounted for almost 5% of the $252 billion companies have repaid to TARP, which is likely to cost U.S. taxpayers only about $50 billion, according to a report released last month.

GM, which emerged from bankruptcy last year, went public last week, selling 478 million common shares at $33 each, or about $15.8 billion in common stock. The automaker had increased the size of the IPO from the previously planned 365 million shares while boosting the price range from as little as $26 a share to as much as $33.

Earlier this month, GM reported that its third-quarter net income was $2.2 billion, compared to a $571 million loss a year earlier. Revenue jumped 27% to $34.1 billion. Additionally, year-to-date sales for GM's four remaining brands through October increased by 22% from a year earlier to 1.81 million units.