GM Generali

Generali (AQEU:GM)
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A group representing General Motors Corp. (GM) bond holders said Monday it has been willing to cut a deal with the struggling auto maker that would help avoid a bankruptcy, comments that come after an advisor to President Barack Obama's autos task force said the committee was being "quite difficult."

The group, in a statement released Monday night, said several weeks ago it presented a proposal for a debt swap which fell in line with terms set by the U.S. government when it loaned GM $13.4 billion to stay afloat. The loan requires a deal with bondholders to convert about two-thirds of GM's $27 billion debt into equity.

Bondholders have argued they're being asked to sacrifice more that the United Auto Workers, which is in parallel negotiations with GM over reducing the auto makers obligations to retirees.

Without debt-reducing deals with the union and bond holders, GM will have a much tougher time convincing the government to grant it's request for an additional $16.6 billion in loans.

But GM has been locked in negotiations with both groups and was unable to reach tentative deals with either by a Feb. 17 deadline set by the government. The auto maker now has until March 31 to have a final deal under terms of the loans.

The deal put forth by the bondholders "provides the best chance, given the parameters set forth in the plan, of completing an out-of-court restructuring by securing a high level of acceptance among a diverse group of GM bondholders - from mutual funds to pension funds to retail bondholders," the group said in a statement. "We stand ready to do our part to bring about a workable solution."

Steven Rattner, a lead advisor to the autos task force, said in an interview with the Detroit Free Press that the bondholders were hampering the auto maker's recovery, calling the group "quite difficult."

-By Sharon Terlep; 248-204-5532; sharon.terlep@dowjones.com.