GM reportedly selling Hummer to China firm

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp said it reached a tentativedeal to sell its Hummer brand, part of an effort to drop fourunprofitable vehicle lines and leave bankruptcy as a leaner company.

    GM, a day after filing for bankruptcy, said in a statement onTuesday that it was not disclosing the identity of the buyer or thevalue of the deal under the terms of the agreement.

    The deal, which is subject to regulatory review, is expected to close in the third quarter.

    The New York Times reported that the buyer was Sichuan TengzhongHeavy Industrial Machinery Co Ltd, a manufacturing company in westernChina with ambitions of becoming an automaker.

    Such a deal, if confirmed, would mark the first time that a Chinesebuyer had acquired an automotive brand from one of the struggling U.S.automakers.

    Chinese parts suppliers and automakers have shopped for U.S.automotive assets, including those at also-bankrupt Chrysler LLC, butno deals have been completed despite the enormous pressure on U.S.automakers in recent years to cut costs and raise cash.

    GM Chief Financial Officer Ray Young said the buyer found for Hummerafter a year-long sale process preferred to remain anonymous for now.

    "It was their preference, and we respected that preference," Youngsaid on a conference call for analysts. GM would reveal the name of thebuyer following a definitive agreement, he said.

    The Hummer buyer would contract to build the H3 model SUV and theH3T pickup truck at GM's plant in Shreveport, Louisiana, through atleast 2010.

    In addition, GM said the investor would fund future vehicles forHummer and invest in alternatives to the heavy gas-guzzling enginesthat are the hallmark of the brand.

    A Chinese buyer for Hummer could face additional scrutiny frompoliticians or GM's major union if it involved taking over U.S.factories as well, analysts have said.

    United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger has previously saidhe would not have supported a Chinese buyer for Chrysler, which is tobe taken over by Italy's Fiat SpA as its best assets are sold out ofbankruptcy.

    In Shreveport, where 800 workers work on a single-shift buildingHummer H3 and H3T models, there was relief that a new buyer would keepthe line running for at least a while longer.

    "As of today, no one has informed us of who the buyer is," saidMorgan Johnson, president of UAW Local 2166, which represents workersat the GM plant.

    "We're just excited that Hummer may live on," he said.