Military industrial complex to fund China through hummer?

I've edited my Hummer post last night after I thought about this a little more. Financial terms were not disclosed, but it is suspected to be a $500 million dollar deal, reduced to $150 million. The investors will also get Hummer's nationwide dealer network. GM sold 1,000 Hummers this year, indicating that some buyers are out there.

After some thinking, I suspected the same thing others had thought a while back, that this was a pipeline to buy cheap Humvees from China while also involving them in the deals of the military industrial complex.

It seems that AM General actually still holds the rights to the Military version of the vehicle. AM General is privately held, owned by private equity firm The Renco Group Inc., and MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings, both of New York. In June of this year the Army felt it necessary to inform everyone that they had no involvement in the deal with China. Officials said some people called the Pentagon, Capitol Hill and AM General, asking if the rights to the Humvee had been sold to the Chinese.

From June:
Steve Clawson, spokesman for the South Bend, Ind.-based AM General, said the military and civilian programs are separate. "GM's proposed sale of the civilian Hummer brand would have no impact on the military Humvee program,".

While it seems to check out so far and merely be an effort to tear the Hummers away from US buyers and convert them into Chinese mini-cars. Still it could be an attempt to pump "green" money over there. Who would suspect "green" being associated with Hummer? I suspect we will foot the bill to convert these monsters into roller skates while also being regulated into buying them.

Something to keep an eye on.

10/9/09

Details on the deal include Hummer contacting vehicle manufacturing from GM, with the General's Shrevport and Mishawaka plants continuing to produce vehicles through June of 2011, with a possible extension until 2012. A recent report says the sale will net GM around $150 million, although the transaction still has to be approved by both U.S. and Chinese regulatory agencies, which could come later this year or in early 2010.

Tengzhong, which only produces commercial trucks and industrial equipment, has never entered into consumer vehicles before, but according to Yang Yi, chief executive officer of Tengzhong. "We are excited about some of the initiatives already underway at HUMMER that we believe our investment will be able to accelerate, particularly related to the creation of the next generation of more fuel-efficient vehicles to meet not only future regulations but also customer expectations."

Wow, I wonder if the deal will get approved, I bet they will scrutinize it REAAAAALLLY closely.

Read: http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/09/breaking-gm-source-say-hu...