The Penske Automotive Group led by NASCAR team owner Roger Penske may put in a bid this week to buy the Saturn division of General Motors.
The Group owns and operates 310 automotive franchises in North America and Europe and had a reported first quarter earnings of $2.2 billon in 2009, and while that figure is down from $3.2 billion from the same period last year the Penske Group has still seized the opportunity to acquire new business made available during the tight economy including a dealership group in Great Britain during the winter.
The Group also instituted a wide array of cost cutting measure across the entire company allowing it to remain competitive in a down market.
“We think we’re on track, despite the challenging market conditions,” Penske said during a recent conference call with analysts.
General Motors is on the brink of bankruptcy and has made no secret of the fact that selling the Saturn division will be part of their recovery process. The company recently closed its Pontiac division and announced last week plans to sever ties with approximately 1100 dealerships across the country.
Penske has close ties to GM and Chrysler and has had for years. And while Penske did confirm that the Group has not made an offer for Saturn yet he didn’t deny they would in future.
According to analysts the time frame for any offer needs to be soon and that may mean this week.
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