Telesto Ventures has announced its intention to get their hands on GM's Saturn brand. Telesto is an made up of the Oklahoma City-based private equity firm Black Oak Partners LLC and American Saturn dealers.
The plan is to offer various car brands under one roof, and the store chain Best Buy is cited as an example--where you can purchase electronic items from a bunch of different brands. The Telesto group unsurprisingly has a preference for small and fuel-efficient vehicles.
Telesto Ventures wants to sell GM's vehicles though 2011. After that, vehicles provided from unnamed overseas manufacturers would be offered to the buying public through the 440 Canadian and American Saturn dealerships.
According to John Pappanastos, spokesman for the Telesto group, their plan would save 12,000 to 15,000 jobs.
The General's reaction
In a press release issued Wednesday, GMconfirmed that over approximately the past 60 days, asub-committee of Saturn retailers has been studying the feasibility ofthe sale or spin-off options, and has identified some parties that arepotentially interested in a purchase or spin-off of Saturn. Black Oak Partners was confirmed to be one of them.
The release states that this potential spin-off or sale of Saturn will be reviewed andif those options did not prove viable Saturn's operations would bewound down over time.
In February 2009, GM had announced its intention to shut down Saturn's operations by the end of model-year 2012.
photo:General Motors
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The plan is to offer various car brands under one roof, and the store chain Best Buy is cited as an example--where you can purchase electronic items from a bunch of different brands. The Telesto group unsurprisingly has a preference for small and fuel-efficient vehicles.
Telesto Ventures wants to sell GM's vehicles though 2011. After that, vehicles provided from unnamed overseas manufacturers would be offered to the buying public through the 440 Canadian and American Saturn dealerships.
According to John Pappanastos, spokesman for the Telesto group, their plan would save 12,000 to 15,000 jobs.
The General's reaction
In a press release issued Wednesday, GMconfirmed that over approximately the past 60 days, asub-committee of Saturn retailers has been studying the feasibility ofthe sale or spin-off options, and has identified some parties that arepotentially interested in a purchase or spin-off of Saturn. Black Oak Partners was confirmed to be one of them.
The release states that this potential spin-off or sale of Saturn will be reviewed andif those options did not prove viable Saturn's operations would bewound down over time.
In February 2009, GM had announced its intention to shut down Saturn's operations by the end of model-year 2012.
photo:General Motors