GM Statement Regarding Greenlight Letter
GM's Board nominees are the best candidates to increase value for shareholders
- GM's outstanding Board of Directors are the best-suited individuals to continue overseeing the successful execution of GM's transformational plan which has delivered three years of record results1 and returned significant value to our shareholders.
- In stark contrast, Greenlight's candidates were nominated specifically to advance Greenlight's dual-class stock plan, which GM's Board views as high-risk and detrimental to the long-term best interests of GM and its shareholders, and do not have the depth or breadth of relevant experience, at the same level of complexity, that our directors bring. Their experience is already fully represented by the current GM Board members.
GM believes that voting for any of the Greenlight candidates represents an endorsement of Greenlight's flawed plan, and the presence of any of the Greenlight candidates on the Board would undermine our ability to move forward with focus and clarity on the right strategic imperatives that are critical as we navigate this period of unprecedented industry change.
GM presented information accurately and responsibly; rating agencies had complete and accurate information regarding the proposal when they issued their opinions and have not changed their opinions after meeting with Greenlight
Greenlight's claims regarding GM's engagement with the rating agencies relative to Greenlight's Dividend Shares proposal are baseless and represent what we view as an irresponsible attempt to divert attention away from the fact that Greenlight's proposal is a high-risk experiment in financial engineering that is not in the best interests of GM shareholders, would result in a downgrade of GM's credit rating, and would not increase value for shareholders.
As we have said before:
- GM presented Greenlight's Dividend Share idea to the rating agencies fully and fairly.
- Greenlight's definitive proxy makes clear that Greenlight has met with two of the rating agencies to make its case directly and the rating agencies' views have not changed. The rating agencies issued their reports after Greenlight made its proposal public and posted its investor presentation.
- It is also clear from the public statements made by the rating agencies that they understand all aspects of the proposal and that it would represent a credit negative if implemented. Any suggestion to the contrary is false.
The Board's conclusions and additional materials addressing Greenlight's most recent assertions are available on GM's website in a dedicated section where shareholders can access all related information: http://www.gmproxy.com.
Forward Looking Statements: This document may include forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations about possible future events and thus are inherently uncertain. Our actual results may differ materially from forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including: (1) our ability to deliver new products, services and experiences that attract new, and are desired by existing, customers and to effectively compete in autonomous, ride-sharing and transportation as a service; (2) sales of full-size pick-up trucks and SUVs, which may be affected by increases in the price of oil; (3) the volatility of global sales and operations; (4) aggressive competition, including the impact of new market entrants; (5) changes in, or the introduction of novel interpretations of, laws, regulations or policies particularly those relating to free trade agreements, tax rates and vehicle safety and any government actions that may affect the production, licensing, distribution, pricing, or selling of our products; (6) our joint ventures, which we cannot operate solely for our benefit and over which we may have limited control; (7) compliance with laws and regulations applicable to our industry, including those regarding fuel economy and emissions; (8) costs and risks associated with litigation and government investigations; (9) compliance with the terms of the Deferred Prosecution Agreement; (10) our ability to maintain quality control over our vehicles and avoid recalls and the cost and effect on our reputation and products; (11) the ability of suppliers to deliver parts, systems and components without disruption and on schedule; (12) our dependence on our manufacturing facilities; (13) our ability to realize production efficiencies and cost reductions; (14) our ability to successfully restructure operations in various countries; (15) our ability to manage risks related to security breaches and other disruptions to vehicles, information technology networks and systems; (16) our ability to develop captive financing capability through GM Financial; (17) significant increases in pension expense or projected pension contributions; (18) significant changes in the economic, political, and regulatory environment, market conditions, and foreign currency exchange rates; and (19) uncertainties associated with the consummation of the sale of
Important Additional Information Regarding Proxy Solicitation:
1 Represents core operating performance (i.e., adjusted for major recall campaigns)
To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gm-statement-regarding-greenlight-letter-300451696.html
SOURCE
David Barnas, Group Manager, Financial Communications, 248-918-8946, david.barnas@gm.com