DETROIT (AP) — The new General Motors Co. plans to register 3.5 billion shares of stock to ready itself for a public offering sometime next year, using the proceeds to repay at least part of what it owes the U.S. government and other stakeholders.

GM disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday that it would register 2.5 billion common and 1 billion preferred shares in preparation for the public sale. Its executives and the government have said they expect the sale sometime in 2010, but no date has been disclosed.

Spokeswoman Julie Gibson said the company is merely authorizing 3.5 billion shares but likely would not sell that high of a number in an initial public offering. It is common practice, she said, for companies to register more shares than they issue.

Current GM stakeholders include the U.S. government, which now owns 61 percent of the Detroit company. So far GM has received $50 billion in U.S. government aid, some of which is to be repaid with the stock sale.

GM emerged from bankruptcy court on July 10 after a lightning-quick 40-day stay, cleansed of much of its debt and burdensome contracts. Its good assets were sold to a new company.

Just before it filed for bankruptcy protection, GM had about 611 million shares outstanding, but those shares stayed with the old GM, which now is mainly a collection of debt as well as closed plants and bad assets waiting to be liquidated.

The company also disclosed Friday that it would not report second-quarter earnings this year, but it will disclose its performance for the three- and nine-month periods before Sept. 30. Those reports will come after the third quarter closes, and the company says they will not comply with general U.S. accounting principles.

GM says it will file reports that meet the accounting standards in 2010.

Spokeswoman Renee Rashid-Merem said GM won’t file the second-quarter earnings because of the extensive work still needed to set up the books for the new company. The new company also needs to finish accounting changes made necessary by selling its good assets to the new company.

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