GM Financial Buys Ally’s Brazilian Unit

Ally Financial Inc. has completed the sale of its Brazilian auto finance and financial services operations to General Motors Financial Co. for about $611 million.

Ally, formerly General Motors Acceptance Corp., says it has now disposed of almost all its overseas businesses for a combined $8.3 billion. The company, which was taken over by the U.S. government in 2008, intends to use the proceeds to bolster its domestic operations and help pay back some $13.8 billion it owes for the federal bailout.

GM CEO Dan Akerson indicated more than a year ago that he wanted to buy Ally's foreign units, thus reclaiming assets GM had owned for nearly 90 years before going bankrupt.

Since thenGM Financial has acquired most of Ally's auto financing operations in Europe and Latin America, plus a stake in a joint venture in China it expects to finalize in 2014.

The wholly owned GM subsidiary says the addition of Ally's Brazilian business gives it the ability offer financing through more than 16,000 dealers in 19 countries.