GM to Buy Back 200M Shares From Treasury

General Motors will spend $5.5 billion to buy back 200 million of its own stock from the US government in the next two weeks, accelerating Uncle Sam's exit from the automaker, the company announced today. GM will pay $27.50 a share, a 7.9% premium on yesterday's closing price, the Wall Street Journal reports.

"We felt this transaction is attractive to the company, good for business, and good for selling more cars," GM's CFO said. "It moves us forward and eliminates a significant overhang on the stock." The Treasury will still own 300 million shares of GM common stock after the sale, or roughly 19% of outstanding shares. It intends to offload those shares over the next 12 to 15 months. (More General Motors stories.)