GM Shipping Hummer Brand to China

(AP)  Hummer, the off-road vehicle that once was a symbol of America's love for hulking trucks, is now in the hands of a Chinese heavy equipment maker.

General Motors Co. and Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Corp. finally signed the much-anticipated deal to sell the brand on Friday, according to a joint statement issued by both companies.

Tengzhong will get an 80 percent stake in the company, while Hong Kong investor Suolang Duoji, who indirectly owns a big stake in Tengzhong through an investment company called Sichuan Huatong Investment Holding Co., will get 20 percent.

He also is the controlling shareholder and chairman of Lumena Resources Corp., a Hong Kong listed mining company.

Financial terms were not disclosed, although a person briefed on the deal said the sale price was around $150 million. GM said in its bankruptcy filing last summer that the iconic brand could bring in $500 million or more.

The person did not want to be identified because the terms were being kept private.

The investors also will get Hummer's nationwide dealer network.

GM and Tengzhong said in a statement that the transaction still must be approved by U.S. and Chinese regulators.

[reality42]

Good for China to see the world starting to become a level playing field

[cbs4111]

The Chinese explained that they believe that there's a huge untapped market for Hummers in the Middle East where there's cheap gas, wide roads, great expanses of deserts, and the people have money. GM never pushed all that hard to market there. The Chinese believe that Hummer can be very profitable, unlike Obama's Auto Task Force who thinks that the whole world, apparently including the US military, will be driving plug-in hybrid micro-cars. Not so coincidentally, China needs oil as much as the US does, and has been working hard to expand their influence in Middle Eastern oil-exporting countries. Picture the US military coming up against the Chinese in the Middle East, the Chinese driving Hummers outfitted with machine gun turrets and the US military driving Government Motors Chevy Volts looking for electrical outlets to plug them into.

[willow_m]

Will the U S Army continue to use Hummers? It seems somewhat ironic that we may end up buying what could be basicly seen as a military vehicle from a communist country, a country that at one time was seen as our enemy.

[tmsaurman]

what happened to President Obama's promise during his campaign? He said that he would quit giving tax breaks to companies who outsource our jobs and punish them for it. Well what does he have to say about this? American jobs lost because the company made very poor business choices.

[dsnj1-2009]

Read between the lines: the Hummer brand has been sold to China-most likely they will use these vehicles for the Army, probably against us.

[LCCLYDE]

Americans lose all the way around here.First is jobs ,when will this crazy madness stop we have sent everything overseas.Commies are going to provide the US with transportation into battle if we have trouble with North Korea.GM knew they were gas hogs yet made and sold them anyway .Gas went to $4.00 a gal.and they were worthless.And we know where GM with thousands of American jobs went.I wonder if our best and brightest future leaders and execs.will learn from this idiocy OR ARE WE GOING TO WIND UP A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY?

[babooph]

The old "govt issue" slang ,giving the military G I term may change......made in China-MAC?

[dragon8me]

GM sold to NAZI Germany in WWII as did all American auto makers. They have a history of selling military equipment to both sides. Capitolist will sell their souls for a profit.

[jsd330]

More american job loss, I hope our troops like driving chinese made vechicals.

[vietnamwar]

That what we get when we ship our jobs to China for cheap labor .....