For General Motors, it's lights out in the Big Apple and game over in Lansing.
A federal judge Monday let General Motors Co. shed dozens of sponsorship deals and pricey perks that included VIP suites at international speedways, naming rights for a Lansing baseball stadium and Times Square billboards.
The move frees GM from spending millions on marketing, sponsorship and promotion-related agreements that did not directly relate to the automaker's core operations. In all, GM shed 54 contracts, but it was unclear how much money the automaker -- once the nation's largest advertiser -- will save.
Separately, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber on Monday approved a deal to allow GM to join forces with Parnassus Holdings LLC -- a unit of Platinum Equity LLC -- to purchase Delphi Corp., which has been mired in bankruptcy since October 2005.
The sponsorship contracts, listed in a court filing Monday, offer a peek at perks enjoyed by GM executives and clients at some of the nation's signature sporting events, such as the Daytona 500. The list included high-profile sponsorship deals with the Oakland Raiders, the University of Southern California, the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament and deals for lesser-known events such as the San Antonio Livestock Expo.
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