GM looks to sell plant in France, other assets

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote) is looking to sell a plant Strasbourg, France, and will begin seeking buyers next month when it also kicks off the sale for its Hummer SUV brand, the automaker said on Wednesday.

GM Treasurer Walter Borst detailed the plans in materials prepared for a presentation at a banking conference sponsored by Deutsche Bank AG that were posted on the automaker's website.

GM had already detailed plans for the sale of Hummer, but the presentation marked the first time it identified the Strasbourg plant as one of the other assets it wants to sell as part of a plan to raise up to $4 billion by next year.

"Assets under review are significantly in excess of these amounts," Borst said. "GM believes it can monetize these assets without impacting the strategic direction of the company."

Borst said GM expected to make further announcements about its asset sales program in the fourth quarter.

In his presentation, Borst also said GM was working with GMAC to develop subsidies that would reduce the strain on GMAC's balance sheet from auto financing, "while allowing GM to remain competitive in the marketplace."

GM retains 49 percent of GMAC. Cerberus Capital Management owns the remainder of the finance company.

Borst said GM saw a "risk of recession in Western Europe," with auto sales there expected to be about 1 million vehicles down from 2007 levels.

The decline has been steeper and longer-running in the United States, the world's largest market by volume and GM's home region.