Saturn’s fate might not be completely sealed just yet. News is just coming out of Detroit that Oklahoma City-based Black Oak Partners LLC, a private equity firm, and an undisclosed number of Saturn dealers made an offer last week to purchase the brand from current owner General Motors.
Black Oak Partners issued a statement today saying that it is awaiting an organized meeting with GM’s Detroit executives. The group’s plan would be to sell GM-built and designed Saturns initially before turning the brand over to smaller, more efficient cars from global automakers. The private equity firm would form the “Saturn Distribution Company,” which would focus on tailoring foreign-designed products for a specific North American clientele, rather than producing its own cars.
“There’s people out there that realize that Saturn is a valuable brand. It’s telling our customers that Saturn is going to be there in the long run,” Carl Galeana, owner of two Saturn dealerships in the Detroit area, told the Associated Press.
GM has received several offers for Saturn, though the automaker says it is bound by nondisclosure clauses from revealing names and offers.
“With respect to what the eventual outcome concerning Saturn might be with Black Oak or any other interested party, it is simply premature at this time to speculate on what any eventual outcome may be,” GM said in a statement released earlier today.
