Reuters first on U.S. IPOs: Freescale, Delphi & GM

Reuters was first to report on July 21 that Freescale, a chip maker bought by private equity for nearly $18 billion in 1996, has started talks on an IPO. The WSJ cited the Reuters story on its blog the next day and the FT matched it a day later. The Reuters story was also mentioned on Blackstone’s earnings conference call by its COO. Reuters broke news on July 20 that the hedge fund owners of auto supplier Delphi were sounding out investment bankers on the prospect of an initial stock offering as early as 2011. One banker with knowledge of the initial Delphi discussions said the company could be valued at around $7 billion. The story was picked up by the New York Times` Dealbook, Dow Jones, USA Today, CNBC and Businessweek. Reuters was first with the news on July 22 that GM plans to file for its IPO in the week of August 16, right after reporting Q2 results that will show it generated cash for a second consecutive earnings period. Reuters was also alone with news that GM is in talks with Bank of America, JPMorgan, and Wells Fargo for dealer and consumer financing to complement its $3.5 billion AmeriCredit acquisition. The Reuters story was picked up by the New York Times Dealbook, the New York Post, CNBC and ABC among others and cited by a Wall Street Journal reporter on Detroit news radio.