General Motors
Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks are seen at a dealership in Gaithersburg, Maryland in this May 1, 2013 file photo. General Motors Co said May 15, 2014 it has issue five more recalls, covering almost 3 million vehichles globally, and is expected to take a charge of up to $200 million. Reuters/Gary Cameron

Six years after it helped save General Motors from bankruptcy, Canada is now letting go of its remaining and final 4.6 percent stake in the Detroit-based automaker. It has agreed to sell 73.4 million shares to Goldman, Sachs & Co. The transaction is valued to be worth US$2.69 billion [A$3.52 billion; CA$3.36 billion] based on Monday's closing price of US$36.66.

The sell-off is part of Canada's Conservative government efforts to live up its commitment to balance the country’s books in 2015-16. The government's forecast last fall was the country will reach a CA$1.6-billion surplus for 2015-16. However, the continued fall of crude prices will surely affect this.

In 2009, Canada invested into the automaker to prevent it from collapsing. Canada GEN Investment Corp, which held Canada's equity interest in GM, said the sale will be completed on April 10. Canada GEN is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canada Development Investment Corporation.

No terms were disclosed, except that the sale was made through a so-called block trade. This meant that Goldman purchases the shares with the eventual plan to sell them to institutional investors. Canada GEN said in a statement that sale proceeds will be made in U.S. dollars. "Gradually over a period of time," it will then be converted into Canadian dollars.

Joe Oliver, Canadian Finance Minister, said the country’s investment into GM had always been “meant to be temporary," noting its sale now meant taxpayers are no longer exposed to the market because GM has returned to private-sector ownership. "We never believed the government should be a shareholder of a private sector company for an indefinite period of time," Oliver said.

The federal Canadian government in September 2013 disposed 30 million of its GM shares at CA$36.65 each, acquiring over CA$1.1 billion at the time. In February the province of Ontario cashed out its stake for CA$875 million.

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