SPECULATION is growing that the financial arm of General Motors could be subject to a takeover bid.

General Motors Acceptance Corp is making more money for GM than building vehicles. A 51% stake in GMAC, which owns Masterlease in the UK, is estimated to be worth $11 billion and would go some way to alleviating GM’s current financial woes.

The car-building arm of GM lost $9.7 billion last year, but GMAC made a profit of $2.8 billion.

A consortium of financial services firms Citigroup and Cerberus Capital Management is said to be competing with another group including Wachovia and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

Nick Brownrigg, CEO of Masterlease, commented: ‘GM announced in October that it is exploring the possible sale of a controlling interest in General Motors Acceptance Corp. Neither the sale nor the strategic partners have been confirmed and it is important to understand that it is our parent company, not Masterlease itself, that is directly affected but we will keep all customers updated when developments occur.’