Renault withdraws from bidding for Proton; PSA makes binding offer - reports (translated)
21 FEB 2017
The French car manufacturer Renault [EPA:RNO] has withdrawn from the bidding for Malaysian rival Proton Holdings, according to a Financial Times report. The newspaper cited two people for the information.
Renault offered no comment other than to say that it regularly considers fresh “business opportunities,” the item said.
The Malaysian conglomerate DRB-Hicom [KLSE:DBRM] owns Proton.
Geely Automotive [HKG:0175], a Chinese car manufacturer, will this week make an offer for all or part of Proton, the report said, citing two people familiar with the timing.
PSA Peugeot-Citroen [EPA:UG] (PSA), another French car manufacturer, is working on an offer for Proton, according to the newspaper.
It is understood that Geely’s main interest is in Proton’s plant in Malaysia, the article added.
Proton did not reply when asked for comment, the report said.
Another report from French daily Les Echos claimed that PSA has submitted a binding offer for Proton. An insider at PSA said that discussions were still ongoing and that the vendor could take a decision by Spring.
According to the report, PSA is looking to operate a production site in South East Asia by 2018 and Denis Martin, head of the China South-east Asia sector at PSA, oversees the negotiations. The report noted that Proton has already worked with PSA in the past, assembling cars for the French group in the 90s.
The report went on to say that PSA is expected to lock horns with Chinese group Geely. However, a person in the know claimed that Geely is especially interested in the Lotus sports car brand owned by Proton, which could therefore be split and sold to the two parties.