The deadline for finalizing the sale of General Motors’s (GM) Hummer brand to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery has been extended to the end of February as the two sides await Chinese regulatory approval, Bloomberg reported. The original deadline for the deal, which was announced in early October, was January 31. Hummer CEO Jim Taylor said that he remained optimistic, despite the approval process taking longer than expected. However, a Ministry of Commerce spokesperson, who declined to be named, said that the ministry has yet to receive a formal application from Sichuan Tengzhong regarding a takeover of Hummer. Tengzhong CEO Yang Yi told China Daily in October that he hoped to win approval for the deal by early 2010. The Chinese company has agreed to pay US$150 million for the Hummer brand, about 70% less than GM valued it in court, according to people familiar with the transaction.