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Non-Tech : GM - General Motors -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: OSHANL who wrote (182)	2/2/1999 10:35:00 PM
From: Time Traveler	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 543

Today, GM fell almost four points. Are the money managers confused GM with Ford? It was Ford's plant that blew up! Time Traveler

To: OSHANL who wrote (182)	2/4/1999 12:06:00 AM
From: zora	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 543

Oshanl, Delphi IPO I am sorry that I can't answer your questions specifically. However, a friend of mine called with the perspectus of Delphi. GM will retain 83% ownership, 100 million shares offered between $15-18. He received this mailing from Dean Whitter, so check with them. Maybe they can help. I don't think owning GM will get you any IPO shares, but you would own the company that owns 83% of the stock. zora

To: OSHANL who wrote (182)	2/4/1999 8:13:00 PM
From: porcupine --''''>	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 543

Delphi IPO frees auto parts firm from GM By Michael Ellis DETROIT, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Friday's initial public offering by Delphi Automotive Systems Corp. unshackles the auto parts giant from the historic labor troubles and reliance on its parent, General Motors Corp., analysts said. The spinoff of the $28.5 billion parts company, which dwarfs its closest competitor Visteon Automotive Systems, gives Delphi the chance to expand business with automakers who have been reluctant to do business with a GM unit. "Who's going to give a GM business a peek behind the veil of their new products?," asked Nicholas Colas, an analyst with Credit Suisse First Boston. Delphi, which will trade under the symbol DPH, is expected to sell 100 million shares or 17.3 percent of its outstanding shares priced between $15 and $18 each. The offering will raise around $1.57 billion, assuming a price of $16.50 per share. Delphi is the latest automotive parts company to go public as the rapidly consolidating industry seeks access to more capital. American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. listed its shares last week at a price of $17 and Ford Motor Co's Visteon unit is eventually expected to be spun-off. In the biggest automotive divestiture ever, and a break away from GM's vertically-integrated automotive manufacturing processes, the automaker will later this year give Delphi full independence. GM plans to distribute its remaining 82.3 percent stake in Delphi to its shareholders. Delphi will rank among the top 30 companies in the Fortune 500 once it is spun-off. Sales to GM competitors accounted for only about 20 percent of Delphi's total sales last year, but nevertheless totaled about $6 billion. DaimlerChrysler AG , Delphi's second largest customer, used Delphi airbags, heating and venting systems and other dashboard components in the Mercedes M-Class compact sport utility. The new Jeep Grand Cherokee has a Delphi climate control system which adjusts automatically according to body surface temperatures measured through infrared sensors. At the same time, Delphi is assured of keeping most of its GM business thriving through a right of last refusal during the bidding process. Delphi will retains the right to match competitors' bids for multiyear contracts with GM until 2002. "They do get the last crack," Colas said. "If they want to keep a business, they will." But the biggest opportunity for Delphi may be to forge better labor relations, analysts said. Delphi has been hit by strikes each of the past three years. GM's nearly two-month long shutdown due to strikes at two key plants this summer cost Delphi $450 million in lost income in 1998. But Delphi management has vowed to be 'pro-union' and the unions recognize a chance to grow their membership with an expanding Delphi, the most heavily unionized of major auto parts manufacturers, analysts said. Even the United Auto Workers union, which publicly opposed Delphi's spinoff, has privately taken a hands-off approach to the IPO, analysts said. "It appears the UAW's real goal is to improve membership over wages," said one analyst, who asked not to be named. ((Detroit newsroom, 313-870-0200))