FACTBOX: What will replace GM if it leaves the Dow?

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The possibility that General Motors will be the first company in 27 years to be removed from the Dow Jones industrials as a result of a bankruptcy has become more likely in recent weeks.

With that in mind, the automaker would have to be replaced in the 30-stock Dow Jones industrial average. But which company will be added to the 103-year-old average if GM is jettisoned?

Analysts do not agree on the size and sector of the company that would replace GM in the Dow, but history suggests that the new entry will not be an obscurity.

"I'd expect the replacement to be a big, large, recognizable name that people are comfortable with," said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Banyan Partners.

There are several directions the average could go in, ranging from well-known tech names like Apple or Cisco, to GM's rival, Ford.

If GM does go bankrupt, the company would be removed from the average, said John Prestbo, executive director of Dow Jones Indexes and the chairman of the DJI oversight committee.

It would be the first Dow stock to be kicked out of the Dow for going bankrupt since the removal of Manville Corp on August 30, 1982. Manville made asbestos products and was sued by ill workers and families. American Express was its replacement.

Following is a list of possible entries into the Dow industrials as discussed with various market analysts:

AETNA INC

Share price: $26.47 Market Cap: $118.5 bln

Prestbo said recently that the insurance industry is currently not represented on the Dow after American International Group's removal last September. However, overhauls to the U.S. healthcare industry make such an addition problematic.

APPLE INC

Share price: $122.74 Market Cap: $106.6 bln

Is there a more ubiquitous name in both the market and in the consumer sector right now? Apple remains a highly regarded brand and after stumbling earlier in its history, has become an earnings powerhouse. It straddles the consumer-discretionary and technology sectors, but tech is already well represented with IBM, Microsoft, Intel and Hewlett-Packard.

CISCO SYSTEMS

Share price: $18.24 Market Cap: $105.4 bln