Saturn has interested buyers, GM says

Saturn is attracting interest from a "few" parties that might want to acquire the brand, a General Motors spokesman said Thursday.

GM has hired Steve Girsky, formerly senior auto analyst for Morgan Stanley, to help advise on any possible Saturn deals.

Saturn spokesman Steve Janisse said, "There is interest from investors in doing a spinoff, and there are other entities interested in just buying it." He said he does not know whether the interested parties are other automakers.

In its Feb. 17 viability report to the U.S. Treasury, GM said it would supply product to Saturn through the 2012 model year. It said if it did not find a buyer or other solution for Saturn before 2012, it would phase out the brand. GM formed a small task force of dealers and some GM employees to look at how it could spin off or sell Saturn.

In a March 3 letter to Saturn dealers, Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak said GM hired Girsky to help the team study the options for Saturn. Janisse said Girsky started work "a couple of weeks ago."

"He has extensive knowledge of the financial side of the equation and so he's helping evaluate the different options," Janisse said. "But he's also there to build the business plans for the options."

Janisse said the Saturn task force wants to have a clear proposal for Saturn dealers by mid-April.

Saturn's U.S. sales, meanwhile, continue to plunge. Its sales in February fell to 6,338 vehicles, down 57.2 percent from February 2008. Total GM sales fell 53.1 percent for the month, and industrywide, sales slipped 41.4 percent.

By Jamie LaReau- Automotive News