Regulatory issues could block GM’s planned sale of Hummer

SHANGHAI (AP) — General Motors Corp.’s planned sale of its Hummer brand to a little-known Chinese truck maker could be blocked by regulators who have not approved the deal and are questioning its wisdom.

Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. and GM have given no financial details about the planned purchase of the American maker of gas-guzzling, military-style SUVs.

However, any such deal would require Chinese Commerce Ministry approval at the provincial level at least.

Reports in the Shanghai Securities News and other state-run newspapers Friday said Sichuan Tengzhong had not yet obtained such an approval. They also raised questions over whether the deal will be allowed to go through, with one report likening Tengzhong’s plan to acquire Hummer to a “snake trying to swallow an elephant.”

The surprise announcement of the acquisition by Sichuan Tengzhong, a maker of heavy industrial vehicles such as cement mixers, has raised questions about the privately owned company, which has disclosed scant information about its ownership or finances.

Reports in the financial magazine Caijing and state-run newspapers said a mining tycoon, Suolang Duoji, who is also known by the Chinese name Li Yan, was behind the deal.