Penske ends talks to buy Saturn

Penske Automotive Group Inc. announced late today that it has ended negotiations to buy the Saturn brand from General Motors.

Penske cited concerns about what it called “the future supply of vehicles beyond the supply period it had negotiated with GM” during the due diligence process.

“The company had negotiated a definitive agreement with GM to source vehicles on a contract-manufactured basis for a period of time,” Penske said. “After this period, the company would have been required to source vehicles from another third party under a similar contract-manufacturing agreement.”

Penske began talks with GM in June, raising the hopes of many Saturn dealers who were going to have to shut down their dealerships. Saturn is one of the four brands GM is abandoning as it seeks to return to profitability.