DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Penske Automotive Group Inc. (PAG) has ended its effort to
acquire the Saturn brand from General Motors Co., citing supply
concerns for branching out beyond the GM-made vehicles.
The disclosure late Wednesday immediately threw the future of
Saturn back into question. GM had said it would shutter the brand
if a buyer couldn't be found, and Penske Auto in June agreed to
acquire the brand with the exception of its manufacturing
operations.
Penske Auto shares were down 7.9% at $17.66.
The deal called for Penske to initially acquire vehicles from GM
but eventually branch out to sell products from Renault SA (RNO.FR)
and its Samsung Motors unit, which is based in South Korea. Penske
Auto said Wednesday that it negotiated a supply agreement with
"another manufacturer," but that company's board rejected the
deal.
"Without that agreement, the company has determined that the
risks and uncertainties related to the availability of future
products prohibit the company from moving forward with this
transaction," said Penske Auto.
Saturn has 350 dealers and the Penske deal was seen saving some
13,000 jobs. The dealers had pressed GM to seek a sale after the
auto maker intially planned to phase out production.
-By Kevin Kingsbury, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2354;
kevin.kingsbury@dowjones.com