Canada agrees to sell its Remaining Stake in General Motors

An announcement has been made that Canada will sell its remaining stake in General Motors Co. Canada will sell its stake to Goldman Sachs for an undisclosed amount.

As per market experts, it is a deal that helps bolster the Conservative government's promise to balance the books before elections. According to Canada GEN Investment Corp., a federal agency, this transaction includes the sale of 73.4 million shares. It has revealed that as a result the Canadian government will no longer hold any shares of General Motors once the deal closes Friday.

In New York trading Monday, shares of General Motors settled at $36.66 and recommended Ottawa is going to generate proceeds of about $2.69 billion. According to Canada, the sale proceeds will be converted by the government into Canadian currency 'gradually over a period of time.'

Back in 2009, the Canadian and Ontario governments initially purchased stakes in General Motors. The federal Canadian government sold 30 million of its General Motors shares at $36.65 each for over $1.1 billion, in 2013.

The sale of the Canadian government's remaining stake comes when Joe Oliver, Finance Minister plans to launch the 2015 budget plan on April 21. Release of the budget was delayed as it is normally introduced before the end of the fiscal year on March 31. According to Mr. Oliver, more time is needed to evaluate the fallout from the decrease in the price of crude oil.

In an emailed statement, Mr. Oliver said the GM stock sale means the government, "eliminated a market exposure for Canadian taxpayers and returned GM to private sector ownership, having supported its continued contribution to Canadian economy. We never believed the government should be a shareholder of private sector company for an indefinite period of time."