Investor seeks $8B GM stock buyback, seat on board

DETROIT (AP) — A General Motors stockholder representing four investment funds has told the company he'll seek a seat on its board at the annual meeting this summer and will push for an $8 billion stock buyback to take place next year.

Harry Wilson, a former hedge fund manager and one-time member of the Obama administration task force that helped to restructure GM and Chrysler in 2009, disclosed his plans in a meeting with GM CEO Mary Barra on Feb. 3.

The company revealed them in a statement issued this morning and said its board will evaluate the proposals through its normal committee process. A date for GM's annual meeting has not been set, but it normally takes place in June at the company's headquarters in Detroit.

Wilson, according to the GM statement, represents Taconic Parties, Appaloosa Parties, HG Vora Parties and Hayman Parties, which together own 34.4 million GM common shares, or 2.1 percent of the company. GM said that Wilson's notice to the company about the proposal shows he'll get a percentage of the group's profits from their investment in the Detroit automaker.

Wilson, who worked at four different financial firms including Goldman Sachs, ran unsuccessfully for New York state comptroller as a Republican in 2010.