Article content

Ontario’s government sold its last remaining General Motors Co. shares acquired during the automaker’s 2009 bailout, saying it would invest the $1.1 billion of proceeds in an infrastructure fund.

The 36.7 million common shares were sold over the last two weeks, Charles Sousa, the province’s finance minister, said in a statement Wednesday from Toronto. Ontario’s move isn’t being matched by Canadian Finance Minister Joe Oliver, whose department said in a statement its goal remains “maximizing the value” of a sale of its GM stock.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Ontario sells last General Motors Co. shares for $1.1 billion Back to video

Canada and Ontario invested $9.5 billion in GM in 2009 as it filed for bankruptcy protection, taking an equity stake of about 12% in the restructured company. The two Canadian governments, seeking to protect jobs and assembly lines in Ontario, joined with money provided by the U.S. to reorganize the Detroit-based company.

“The Ontario government is proud to have been able to play an important role in protecting thousands of jobs across the province through its support of the auto sector in 2009,” Sousa said. “Today’s announcement marks an important step in unlocking the value of the province’s assets to continue to grow our economy.”

Bloomberg.com