June 5 (Bloomberg) -- Penske Automotive Group Inc., the car-dealer chain led by racing-team owner Roger Penske, won the bidding for General Motors Corp.’s Saturn unit as the biggest U.S. automaker sheds assets in bankruptcy.

The sale will save 13,000 jobs and 350 dealers “in the near term,” said Detroit-based GM, which like Penske Auto wouldn’t detail the terms. The price will be $100 million to $200 million, said a person familiar with the talks, who declined to be identified because the deal isn’t complete.

Unloading Saturn is a step toward GM’s goal of disposing of four of its eight U.S. brands while reorganizing in Chapter 11. Because Bloomfield Hills, Michigan-based Penske Auto isn’t a manufacturer, it will have to find a supplier of new vehicles.

For GM, getting a buyer able to run a dealer network and market the vehicles “is like finally finding your puppy a good home,” said Jack Nerad, an auto analyst at car-pricing service Kelley Blue Book in Irvine, California.

“Penske is incredibly well-respected in the business,” said Stephanie Brinley, an auto analyst at consulting firm AutoPacific Inc. in Troy, Michigan. “It should help Saturn maintain the reputation it has for reaching the consumers.”

Penske Auto plans to keep selling Saturns made by GM, which has said it’s willing to assemble the cars on a contract basis through 2011. Chief Executive Officer Roger Penske, 72, said he expects to line up a “worldwide partner” to produce future Saturns with an “ultimate goal” of building them in the U.S.

Retired Chrysler LLC President Tom LaSorda, who has been consulting with Penske Auto on the deal, will have a role in the new Saturn that hasn’t been set, Roger Penske said. The sale will close next quarter, and Saturn will become a wholly owned unit, according to the CEO.

‘Passionate Customer Base’

“Saturn has a passionate customer base and outstanding dealer network,” Roger Penske said. “For nearly 20 years, Saturn has focused on treating the customer right. We share that philosophy, and we want to build on those strengths.”

Penske Auto gained 5 cents to $14.65 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock has gained 91 percent this year, compared with a 4.1 percent gain in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

“I’m pretty excited. Roger has a track record of success,” said Carl Galeana, who owns two Michigan Saturn dealerships. “Roger’s a hands-on guy. If he’s interested in this happening, he realizes the brand is so strong you can do something with it.”

The acquisition may worsen Penske’s “high leverage” and reduce liquidity, said Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, which placed the dealer’s B+ corporate credit and B- issue ratings on CreditWatch with negative implications. Both ratings are below investment grade.

‘Significant Execution Risk’

“We understand the transaction will not involve Penske’s becoming a manufacturer or owning Saturn dealerships,” S&P wrote. “Still, we would likely view the responsibility for future vehicle product selection and manufacturing strategy as carrying significant execution risk.”

Moody’s Investors Service today placed all ratings of Penske Auto on review “with direction uncertain.”

GM established Saturn in 1985, five years before selling the first vehicle. GM sought to lure customers who might otherwise buy European or Japanese vehicles, by offering fuel- efficient small cars and a superior customer experience with no- haggle pricing to differentiate the brand from other GM marques.

Dealer staffs gathered around to clap every time a customer drove a new vehicle off the lot, and Saturn enthusiasts trekked to GM’s dedicated Saturn plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, for annual reunions.

‘Consultative’ Approach

“They did everything they could to satisfy the customer,” Nerad said. “Little things like dressing their dealership personnel in sweaters and slacks and taking a more consultative rather than adversarial approach.”

Sales peaked in 1994 at 286,003 units, according to Autodata Corp. in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. This year, U.S. deliveries fell 58 percent through May.

Starting in the mid-1990s, Saturn was all but ignored for a decade, with little new product. GM in the first half of 2006 began introducing a completely new lineup of higher-quality Saturns that are available today. Still, Saturn wasn’t profitable.

Missed Opportunity

“It takes more than just a couple years of new product after 10 years of nothing going into the brand,” Nerad said. “To me Saturn is one of the saddest missed opportunities at GM. I think there’s a good chance it will be successful. The smart marketers at Penske can figure it out.”

The Spring Hill factory stopped building the vehicles in 2007. The plant, which now builds the Chevrolet Traverse, is scheduled to be idled in November.

The other bidder for Saturn was a group that was led by Oklahoma City-based private equity firm Black Oak Partners LLC and included some of the brand’s dealers.

GM said the jobs being preserved by the sale include the automaker’s own employees as well as workers at Saturn dealerships. Most Saturn dealers are standalone operations, according to GM.

GM, which filed for court protection on June 1, plans to sell Hummer to China’s Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. and is dropping Pontiac. It says it will cut ties to Saab, which is in bankruptcy in Sweden, by 2010.

Penske Auto focuses on premium brands, which accounted for 65 percent of its inventory in the first quarter, according to the company’s earnings statement. The company operates 310 auto franchises worldwide, mostly in the U.S. and U.K.

Roger Penske has other auto-related businesses including Penske Corp. and Penske Truck Leasing Corp. A former race-car driver, he is the founder of Penske Racing Inc. and Penske Racing South Inc.

To contact the reporters on this story: Katie Merx in Southfield, Michigan, at kmerx@bloomberg.net; Doron Levin in Southfield, Michigan, at dlevin@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 5, 2009 17:20 EDT