General Motors said a group including private-equity firm Black Oak Partners LLC and some dealers is one of “multiple bidders” for the automaker’s Saturn division, as GM cuts back under its survival plan.

The Black Oak group initially would sell GM vehicles through Saturn’s 440 US and Canadian dealers and later might add models from other automakers, focusing on fuel efficiency, the group said.

A GM spokesman refused to name the other suitors.

GM faces a June 1 deadline for a possible government-ordered bankruptcy, and is trying to shed Saturn as well as its Hummer and Saab brands.

GM’s Chevrolet, Cadillac and Buick brands are likely safe, sources said. Shedding GMC and Pontiac are also being studied, the people said.

GM has also told its US dealers it is accelerating its