U.S. Sells Final Stake in GM

The U.S. government has exited as a shareholder in General Motors Co. nearly five years after bailing out the bankrupt company with a $49.5 billion investment that made it the company's 60.8% owner.

GM's largest shareholders in the aftermath of the stock sale are a United Auto Workers union healthcare trust (9.2%) and the Canadian government (7.2%), according to the company.

The selloff by the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury began a year ago, whittling its stake in GM to less than 14% by mid-2013. The government recouped about $39 billion of its original investment.

The Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich., estimates the government's bailout of GM in 2009 preserved 1.2 million jobs that year and 675,000 in 2010. It also figures the investment saved or avoided the loss of $39 billion in transfer payments and taxes.

With the last of government ownership now gone, GM will be able to compensate its top executives without caps or the need for permission. It also can begin paying dividends for the first time since its initial public offering in November 2010.