General Motors boosted the outstanding shares of its GM Class H common stock, the tracking stock tied to Hughes Electronics and its DirecTV DBS unit, enabling a declared 3-for-1 stock split and preparing for possible acquisitions.
The stock split will be in the form of a 200% stock dividend, payable on June 30, to GM Class H stockholders of record on June 13.
The split is cosmetic, reducing the ostensible price of each share to make it seem cheaper without changing any underlying value. But by increasing the number of authorized Hughes shares from 600 million to 3.6 billion, the company is also getting ready for possible acquisitions.
One possible purchase for Hughes would be Pegasus Communications Corp., the largest reseller of DirecTV in U.S. rural regions.
