(Reuters) - General Motors Co <GM.N> paid $119 million in September to buy back a 1 percent stake in its joint venture with its top Chinese partner SAIC Motor Corp <600104.SS>, which it had given up ahead of its 2009 bankruptcy.

The deal pushed GM's ownership in Shanghai GM back to 50 percent, the U.S. automaker disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday. However, SAIC retains a 51 percent share in the sales side of the business.

In the run-up to its 2009 bankruptcy filing, GM sold the 1 percent share to SAIC for $85 million.

On Thursday, GM Chief Financial officer Dan Ammann told reporters that the Detroit company had completed the repurchase of the 1 percent stake in Shanghai GM and the Chinese government approved the purchase last year.

(Reporting By Ben Klayman in Detroit; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)