General Motors Company announced Wednesday that it filed a registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a proposed initial public offering.

The automaker won't sell any common shares itself, but will offer preferred shares alongside the IPO. The government, which owns 61 percent of GM, will sell some of the common shares it owns, according to the filing.

The amount of securities offered will be determined by market conditions and other factors at the time of the offering. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have not yet been determined.

Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan (representatives of the underwriters), BofA Merrill Lynch, Citi, Goldman, Sachs & Co., Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank Securities, RBC Capital Markets, and UBS Investment Bank will be the joint book-running managers for the offering.

When available, copies of the preliminary prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained for free, by visiting the SEC website at http://www.sec.gov. Alternatively, a copy of the preliminary prospectus may be obtained by contacting:

■ Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated, Attention: Prospectus Department, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, New York 10014, (866) 718-1649, or by sending email to prospectus@morganstanley.com

■ J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., Attention: Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, New York  11717, (866) 803-9204