Finally! Somebody Interested in Buying Saturn, GM Confirms

After several months of uncertainty when nobody, and count here GM too, knew what's gonna happen with Saturn, sources close to negotiations finally confirmed that a "few" parties are interested in buying the brand. General Motors recently hired Steve Girsky, formerly senior auto analyst for Morgan Stanley, to analyze Saturn options and help advise on any potential deal, Autonews wrote today.

Saturn spokesman Steve Janisse confirmed the report but mentioned it's currently unclear whether the interested parties are other auto manufacturers. "There is interest from investors in doing a spinoff, and there are other entities interested in just buying it," he said according to the aforementioned source.

Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak mentioned in a letter sent to authorized dealerships on March 3 that Steve Girsky has been hired to supervise the dealers and to help determine the best option for the struggling brand.

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

"An independent Saturn would still have its great retailers, and it would continue to source current products from GM through 2011. If successful, SDC at that point would source products from other manufacturers."

General Motors wrote in the viability plan submitted to the US government on Friday 17 that the company intends to support Saturn through the 2012 model year. Meanwhile, the automaker remains up for sale, General Motors mentioned in the official papers. However, if no interested buyer is found before 2010, GM would kill the brand, it said.