Chairman Having More Say In GM’s operations

In an interview to the WSJ, The government appointed Chairman Edward E. Whitacre Jr of General Motors Co. (NYSE: GRM) indicated that his first priority is not the IPO, but to pay back debt.

When the recession came in, as a part of the bailout package, the Federal Government gave $6.7 billion as debt to GM. Earlier; the CEO of GM, Frederick "Fritz" Henderson has indicated that the IPO may happen in 2010.

The WSJ interview also indicates that Whitacre Jr seems to be having greater control on GM’s functioning. Recently, the board also vetoed the CEO’s plan to sell control of the Opel unit. The CEO favored the plan and has struck a deal with Magna International Inc. (NYSE: MGA) for selling a majority stake of Opel’s European operations.