GM restates Q2 loss, says GMAC deal date in question

[Omaha Steve]

Full story: http://money.excite.com/ht/nw/bus/20060801/hle_bus-wen2916.html



Tuesday August 1, 8:25 PM EDT

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp. (GM) said on Tuesday it was restating its net loss for the just-reported second quarter, increasing the loss by $200 million to reflect a tax provision related to the sale of its finance arm, GMAC.

GM also said the closing of the $14-billion deal to sell a 51-percent stake in GMAC to an investor consortium led by hedge fund Cerberus Capital Management could be delayed beyond the fourth quarter because of difficulty in obtaining needed regulatory approval.

"GM and GMAC are now working with the consortium to consider ways to try to avoid delaying the targeted closing date until 2007," GM said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that came after the close of trade.

Shares in GM slipped 1.5 percent to $30.80 in after-hours trade from a New York Stock Exchange close of $31.30.

That disclosure marked a reversal from last Wednesday when GM chief financial officer Fritz Henderson said that the deal was on track to close in the fourth quarter.

GM said prospects for the GMAC closing had been complicated by a move Friday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which announced a six-month moratorium on approving the change in control of industrial loan companies.

Obtaining FDIC clearance had been a condition for closing of the GMAC sale, GM said.