MARCH 25, 2010, 4:14 P.M. ET.

GM to Repay $1 Billion

By SHARON TERLEP

DETROIT—General Motors Co. expects to make a $1 billion loan repayment to the U.S. Treasury on Wednesday as part of its plan to repay the government ahead of schedule, a person familiar with the plan said.

GM promised to pay back at least $1 billion of its $6.7 billion cash loan each quarter, with the final payment coming by the end of June. GM's first quarter ends next week.

The company had two years to repay the loan, but Chairman and Chief Executive Edward E. Whitacre Jr. has made repaying the money a priority as GM tries to shed the stigma of the federal bailout it received last year from the U.S. Treasury.

Under the deal, the U.S. loaned GM $50 billion. The company is to repay $6.7 billion directly; the rest is covered in the form of a 60% equity stake that the Treasury plans to start selling off after GM launches an initial public offering.

Separately, GM promised to repay $200,000 a quarter to the Canadian government, which also loaned GM billions of dollars and converted most of that loan into equity.

In promising early payments of the loans, Mr. Whitacre backed off a timetable set by his predecessor, CEO Frederick "Fritz" Henderson, to go public sometime this year. Instead, Mr. Whitacre has said, he is focused on making the loan repayments and stabilizing GM's operations to make the company more attractive to potential investors.

Ford Motor Co. has benefited from its standing as the only Detroit auto maker to sidestep bankruptcy. The company's sales are up 34% this year compared to a 14% increase at GM.

GM is expected in coming weeks to release delayed financial results for the final three months of 2009, along revised third-quarter figures that adhere to federal accounting guidelines.

Results for GM's first quarter will come out later this year.

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