NEW YORK - THE road was cleared on Thursday for General Motors to exit bankruptcy after a court-imposed stay preventing the sale of its assets to a new company was lifted.

GM expects to close the deal 'as soon as possible,' spokeswoman Julie Gibson told AFP.

GM, which filed for bankruptcy protection on June 1 and has vowed to emerge as a leaner, more profitable company once freed from its burdensome debts, won court approval Sunday for the asset sale.

However, Judge Robert Gerber imposed a four-day stay on the decision in order to give creditors an opportunity to file objections.

A last-minute appeal was filed on Thursday, but it is unlikely that they will convince a district judge to issue a stay blocking the appeal, said John Pottow, who specialises in bankruptcy law at the University of Michigan Law School.

'I don't think they'll get it,' Mr Pottow said.

Two other groups of creditors had asked the New York court to extend a stay on the sale of the assets while their appeals were heard, but Judge Gerber dismissed their motions on Tuesday in a decision which paved the road for a speedy exit. -- AFP