General Motors Corp., Detroit, will sell 15.5 million shares of DirecTV Group Inc. held by two GM pension plans, according to a news release from DirecTV. The shares, which will be sold to El Segundo, Calif.-based DirecTV May 24, will be valued at a total of roughly $265 million. The shares are held by General Motors Special Hourly Employees Pension Trust and the General Motors Special Salaried Employees Pension Trust. GM had $94 billion in defined benefit assets as of Sept. 30, according to Pensions & Investments; the company does not break out assets of individual plans.
At the close of the latest transaction, DirecTV will have acquired $2.24 billion of its company stock from GM's pension plans in a $3 billion share repurchase program between the two companies.
GM spokesman Jerry Dubrowski was not immediately available to provide further details.
U.S. Trust acted is the independent trustee for the GM pension plans involved in the transaction.
