国际英语新闻：GM to offer largest ever IPO in U.S. history

CHICAGO, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- General Motors Co. (GM) on Wednesday announced that the price of common share in its initial public offering (IPO) has been set at 33 U.S. dollars, bringing the value of total common shares to 15.77 billion dollars.

The company also announced its plan to issue 4.35 billion dollars of mandatory convertible junior preferred stocks.

The value of GM's IPO amounts to 20.1 billion dollars in total, surpassing Visa's 19.7 billion dollars in its 2008 IPO to become the largest one in Wall Street history. If the overallotment options are exercised by underwriters, the total IPO will hit 23.1 billion dollars.

GM's common stock will begin trading on Nov. 18 in the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "GM" and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "GMM."

"As we prepare to enter the equity markets, all of us at GM are excited about this historic milestone. We are especially appreciative of those who stood by us through the toughest times, and we are dedicated to creating value for all of our stakeholders, " said GM's Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell.

The underwriters have a 30-day overallotments option to purchase up to 71.7 million additional shares of common stock from the selling stockholders, for a total of 2.37 billion dollars, and an additional 13 million shares of mandatory convertible junior preferred stock, for a total of 650 million dollars.