Last Tuesday, the Canadian government announced that it had a deal to sell its common shares in General Motors Corp. The government would sell nearly a quarter of its common shares as a part of a long term plan. The said plan was to shed the stake it acquired when it helped the automaker through a bailout funding.

In a statement the government said that it would sell 30 million GM common shares. This would be done in a block trade to RBC Capital Markets and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

The shares would be sold at the closing market price last Tuesday less a small discount. GM shares ended trading last Tuesday at USD37 which put the value of the Canadian government's stake at approximately USD1.1 billion.

Canada GEN Investment Corp, the holding firm for the government's GM stake, would still own more than 110 million GM common shares after the deal closes on September 16. The government would also own more than 16.1 million preferred shares.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said, "As we said from the start, our investment in GM was always meant to be temporary as we worked to maximize the return to Canadian taxpayers, The Government of Canada is committed to exiting from ownership of GM as quickly as feasible, while maximizing the return for Canadian taxpayers, as we demonstrated today."