Several Parties Have Emerged to Purchase Saturn From GM
Several Parties Have Emerged to Purchase Saturn From GM
By Matthew Keegan
Conceived during the 1980s and launched in 1990, GM’s Saturn brand has gone from being an independent car company to becoming just another division in the GM brand portfolio. Its loss of independence and subsequent parental financial woes eventually doomed the brand, one that GM has promised to sell off or close down by the end of 2009.
Two Strong Suitors Have Stepped Forward
Now, at least two strong suitors have stepped forward to acquire the brand, including the Penske Group, which is one of the largest automobile dealer groups in the country. The Penske name is legendary is automotive racing and the company is also the exclusive distributor of Smart cars in the US.
The second suitor is a group of Ohio investors, whose background isn’t as clearly known. However, like some other parties who have expressed interest in Saturn, the group from Ohio may be looking to supply Saturn with vehicles from a number of different automakers. In other words, they would retain the Saturn brand but use retail outlets to sell any number of different vehicles.
Time Is Of The Essence
General Motors is still working out its restructuring in advance of an end of May deadline where the company could be forced into bankruptcy protection. Under bankruptcy, GM may have more options available to itself as it seeks to divest itself of several brands including Saturn, Saab and Hummer. Recently, GM announced that its iconic Pontiac brand would be shut down, selling its last vehicles before 2010 comes to a close.
GM has hired an independent advisor to review the Saturn bids with an eye to narrowing the list to three or four suitors. The automaker plans to continue to accept bids for Saturn until early June, hoping that the brand would sell before the end of the summer.
One group of potential buyers who has expressed strong interest in Saturn is the brand’s own dealer network. This group has been looking at purchasing GM vehicles from other divisions including Holden in Australia and Daewoo in South Korea, vehicles which could be badged as Saturns. However, it appears that the most likely scenario is the retail shop option where Saturn will be more of a “Best Buy” type retailer, selling several different brands to customers.
25 years after the Saturn idea was hatched, it appears that the curtain will be drawn on the show or at least repurposed to market a variety of cars underneath the Saturn umbrella.
Matthew C. Keegan is a freelance writer who resides in North Carolina. Matt is a contributing writer for Andy’s Auto Sport an aftermarket supplier of quality parts including Ford wheels and Ford rims.
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