General Motors announced on Thursday that it had sold the last of its holdings in Ally Financial, its onetime financing arm, through a private placement of shares for $900 million.
G.M., which declined to identify the buyer, said it expected to record a gain of $500 million in the fourth quarter on the sale of the 8.5 percent stake.
“This transaction releases capital from a noncore asset and further enhances our financial flexibility,†Daniel Ammann, G.M.’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, said in a statement. “Ally continues to play an important role in financing our dealers and customers in the United States.â€
The sale allows G.M. to avoid a lockup of its shares if Ally moves forward with a long-awaited initial public offering. Such sales usually require existing stockholders to hold on to their shares for several months.
An I.P.O. would let Ally’s majority shareholder, the federal government, sell some of its 64 percent stake. The Treasury Department obtained those holdings as part of a series of bailouts, which Ally has been steadily repaying.
The timing of an I.P.O. is not clear.
