General Motors Co. is poised to sign a deal to sell its Hummer brand to a Chinese heavy equipment manufacturer as early as today afternoon, AP quoted a person briefed on the deal as saying. Representatives of Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Corp. have been in the U.S. for the past nine days working on final details with GM, and both sides hope to sign a definitive sales agreement on Thursday or Friday, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the deal is not final. The purchase price was not known, but GM said in its bankruptcy filing that Hummer might bring $500 million or more. GM spent 40 days in bankruptcy protection during the summer and has received about $50 billion in U.S. government aid. The company plans to sell its Hummer and Saab brands and scrap Pontiac and Saturn as it tries to streamline its operations and focus on four core brands: Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC. Once the deal is signed, it still must be approved by Chinese and U.S. regulators. Any such deal would require Chinese Commerce Ministry approval at the provincial level at least. Hummer spokesman Nick Richards in Detroit would not comment on the timing of the deal.
