DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp has sent a sales prospectus for Hummer to potential bidders as it scrambles to shore up its cash amid a sharp downturn in global auto sales.
The step to put Hummer up on the block and provide financial data to buyers comes four months after Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said GM would look to sell the military-derived SUV brand that had become an emblem of gas-guzzling excess for many consumers.
GM spokeswoman Joanne Krell said the automaker was moving toward a resolution of the Hummer sale process "as quickly as practical." But she also said the company had no timetable for completion of any deal and could still keep the brand.
GM has said it plans to raise up to $15 billion in cash through cost-cutting, borrowing and asset sales through the end of next year to ride out a slump in U.S. auto sales now near 15-year lows and expected to drop further in October.
In a move that pointed to a further need for cash, the automaker has agreed to set up a $1.6 billion health-care trust fund and pay buyouts of up to $140,000 to some 1,500 workers at a Moraine, Ohio SUV plant GM plans to close in December, the union representing the plant said on Friday.
At the same time GM is selling Hummer, the automaker is also looking at a potentially bigger deal to acquire all or part of Chrysler LLC, according to people familiar with those talks.
Chrysler's best-known and most-valuable brand is Jeep and some analysts have questioned why GM would be considering a Chrysler acquisition from its owner Cerberus Capital Management at the same time it is trying to sell Hummer, an off-road competitor to Jeep with its macho, don't-tread-on-me styling.
Hummer sales have plunged 47 percent through September and two dozen Hummer dealers have closed their doors in the United States this year.
Analysts and bankers have said they expect GM to face a tough sell with Hummer because of the slump in global auto sales, frozen credit markets and the brand's niche status.
The original Humvees were multipurpose, off-road military vehicles, but maker AM General launched Hummer for civilians in 1992. GM bought the brand in 1999 and went on to sell the H1, H2 and H3 models.
The current line-up of Hummer models runs from roughly $31,000 to about $71,000 before incentives.
(Reporting by Kevin Krolicki; Editing by Gary Hill)
