Parent company of Proton, DRB-Hicom, is looking to sell potentially all of its stake in the national automaker, as told to The Star by CIMB Equities Research. According to the report, CIMB Equities Research said that a successful disposal of Proton at a good price would act as a catalyst for the share price.
It was commenting on a news weekly report that DRB-Hicom Bhd is expecting as many as seven bids for Proton by the middle of this month and it may even sell as much as 100% of Proton to foreign buyers.
In a separate report, CIMB Equities Research named France’s Groupe PSA and Renault SA, Germany’s Volkswagen, America’s General Motors, Japan’s Suzuki and China’s Geely as potential partners or buyers for Proton following the potential sale from DRB-Hicom. The secretary of the special task force, Madani Sahari, said earlier that Proton could look into mimicking the Perodua-Daihatsu partnership model as it has proven to be a success.
CIMB Research also pointed out that the plan to sell a stake in the national car marker, Proton, to a foreign partner is not new. Prior to DRB’s acquisition of Proton in 2012, Volkswagen and Peugeot-Citroen were reportedly keen to acquire a stake.
“We are positively surprised by DRB’s willingness to dispose of its entire stake in Proton. We believe that, this time around, there is a higher chance that the sale of Proton to a foreign partner may succeed given the recent reorganisation in Proton’s top level management and its need for further equity injection,” the report said.
“Proton posted a loss of RM1.4bil (or 72 sen a share) in its FY3/2016 results. This led DRB-Hicom to record a pretax loss of RM821.3mil. Excluding the loss, we estimate DRB-Hicom’s pretax profit was RM578.7mil. To recap, DRB-Hicom bought a 100% stake in Proton for approximately RM3bil in 2012.
“The disposal is expected to boost the future earnings of DRB-Hicom as it will no longer need to consolidate the losses of Proton, if it sells a 100% stake. The sale could also improve the group’s net gearing ratio of 0.51 times as at March 31, 2016 and boost future cash flows,” it said.
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Here we go again, bashing time!
investing in p2 is stable and more profitable, RIP proTun..
Sell to MoF la. Gomen happy to classify everything while still using public fund to repay the junks.
See who gonna be the big water fish to buy this crap company. Proton is not established to provide good and cheap cars for fellow Malaysians, but to feed the bunch of cronies.
The softloan even NOT enough to pay the line-up datuk-datuk sekalian pockets 5~6figures salary, mai nasi lemak teh tarik aketuk sleepy… mana pugi tranformasi datuk-datuk plan…
Sell it off to China company!
Better sell to European or Japanese companies rather than the China company. When Geely bought Volvo, it’s because Volvo has the high tech engineering capabilities and of course a bit of prestige. Which is not much in Proton’s case..
The worst of the named 6 bidders is definitely General Motors.Saab Cars is a grim reminder of what could happen to a foreign brand managed by GM. Basically quite skeptical for American bidders in this type of bussiness ventures (another example is during the Ford’s reign of the Premier Automotive Group – Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover & Aston Martin which were later sold off and now flourished under new ownership). The European bidders definitely have the upper edge on the technology side. Suzuki – excellent at building cheap and dependable cars (sounds just like Daihatsu). Geely – might gain access to Volvo’s technology..
So many times Proton was offered to be bought. But Government declined. And countless of times been offered to merger, Government declined.
Actually in 2007, VW wanted to merge with Proton. If VW had merged with Proton, Proton will be making billions. But unfortunately, cabinet shot down the decision. VW on the other hand wanted to merge with Proton badly.
Here, we must analyse why cabinet shot down the decision. Our brilliant cabinet shot down the decision because the Germans did not agree to the 30% free shares tongkat policy ruling. The Germans were shocked. They have never heard of this tongkat policy. But our Ministers said that in Malaysia, whatever company you set up, you must give 30% shares FREE.
Mat Salleh said cannot lah like this. Then cabinet shot down the deal. Imagine if Proton was to rebadge VW cars, Proton will be worth billions today!
Hidup tongkat policy!
Imagine if Proton sold rebadged German cars, nobody will even bother buying any Japanese cars in Malaysia. Of course not the DSG units but the normal Auto Polos.
Everybody will buy this rebadged Polos cause we know we will be getting a full German car. this is the same principle why Perodua is doing well. People know they are getting a full Toyota Passo when they buy a Myvi.
bodoh Proton
So, whether Proton is sold or merger, our Government will give the buyer all sorts of conditions and the other car company will run away
Full Toyota Passo = Myvi?
Lololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololo
FYI P1 is not under govt but DRB so DRB can do watever they want.
He was talking about the time wen p1 was still glc n not under drb
On the surface of it, DRB is in full control or Proton, but…….
I think lucky Proton didnot merge with VW. VW sekarang sendiri pun having so many shit around..
Lets see if this time the sale to foreign buyers can “jadi” or not, most likely the Mat Salleh and Jepun won’t agree to the Terms and Conditions set but the Chinese will take a bite at it.
German cars isn’t that good. Maybe u didn’t own one?
Proton: You guys watch out.. one day.. one day.. after I’m being bought by foreign company and become first class super car. Then you will have to queue to buy me. Sue me if I reject you from being in the queue.
Buy Proton. Free Lotus^^
High risk High returns !!
Sell to Geely @ Volvo.
thn depan beli Proton XC90 T8 @ rm150K.
Before this, huhahuha the new accordana so nice and prestige.. huhahuha the new persona & saga so good in handling and safety, huhahuha the future turbo engine so powerful and can use for here and there.. huhahuha the new management direction to turnover the potong after get the loan from government.
Now suddenly state willing to sell entire potong to others? This show the potong is totally no vision and direction at ALL!!! lol
Of course la proton need to show they have good products before they sell. Thats why they rush to launch three cars this year, and announce theyre developing new engines. Otherwise nobody will be interested.
Dont blame on Proton. They just a black sheep in family.But give your full blame to DRB-HICOM itself. Because they dont know how to make profit. I wonder if the Ministry Of Defence (MOD) didnt awarded multi billion AV8 APC project to help the DRB, for sure la DEFTECH (on by DRB-HICOM) will bungkus too.
And what about those 1.5B soft loan? Where will it goes?
Bonus payments for directors (crony).
give to DRB Hicom.
last year Proton Rugi 1.4billion.
Dulu2 punya cerita,
Mitsubishi sold their stakes to DRB. Later,
DRB cannot sustain its business, sold their Proton shares to Khazanah. A few years ago, DRB-HICOM bought back Proton shares from Khazanah.
And now, DRB want to sell it Proton shares again. What business is this. Shame on you la DRB Hicom.
This DRB-Dumbboard can’t handle Proton. But willing to buy Proton at first? WTH? Ambik semua duit daripada Proton then chow? Tak guna la ini DRB-Hicom.
DRB is just rubbish. Still cant understand why it was chosen to take over proton.
To unlock the Shah Alam plant land GDV actually.
No one peek into the new Perdana also. People will just go to buy a second hand Accord.
If u check back some special incident happened.. 6 months before DRB Hicom buying P1, u will know that it is because VW Ag. There were a deal in talk… almost finalise.. which VW wanted to use P1 TM plant to assembly VW .. as Asia hub .. beside China market. This could be the main reason DRB wanted to buy P1.
DRB-Hicom always request aid from gov and good to make rubbish business….poor management holder people and do not learn how to improve…
let’s see who dare to buy this company reknown for it sleeping employees and cronies suppliers.
even if someone buys, there will be heavy trimming of workforce and suppliers to come.
Dare? If 7 bids, mean they are really interested.. why bother to as if they are dare or not..
They want lotus
Stupid ka? 7 bids might mean 7 low bids. If something worth RM10 B, I can also bid RM5 B
There will be a buyer. It all boils down to the price.
They just want to eliminate Tun’s legacy. That’s all.
Tun’s legacy will always stay. Putrajaya, KLIA, Plus Highway, LRT…
One by one..after this renaming the KLIA to LCCT on the next agenda la.
What legacy? Legacy in losing money?
I hope they don’t.. I do hope they sell some but not all.
so much for turn around specialists at DRB, they destroyed Proton, fired all the good people and replaced them with bunch of accountants with God type Ego. awarded business to their own companies and chop shops with no capability. now that company is almost bankrupt they want to sell to others can clean up their mess. they need to answer to people for their mess and terrible cars and very low sales. Proton will never be successful as long as their culture is there and almost all of Proton staff meed to be replaced with fresh people. now we will see DRB wants so much money for the dead company that all potentials will run away.
Daddy can’t afford to take care of you P1…
Bye bye proton…I hope you will have a great success with a better top notch global management to flourish Malaysia name. I hope Malaysia will never have to suffer again, and all Malaysian can enjoy any cars. Insyaallah.
LOL another dumbass who thinks that Proton is the cause of high car prices in Malaysia. I guess Proton is screwing over Thailand as well, since their car prices are similar to ours? And Indonesia too?
The entire price distortion started by Proton causing other regional Asean car prices to increase made worse by Afta debacles. It was a sick cycle indeed.
But somehow Karma now bites back at Proton and just like an old dying patient that refuse to die, the doctor finally obtain family permission to perform mercy killing. Death is all but necessary.
What if I tell you, even if Proton close shop govt won’t eliminate tax on foreign car?
You are too young to understand. Whenever proton want to launch new models all popular Japanese cars will be pushed a notch higher. In 1987 new corolla, civic and altis were pushed to 40-50k mark, therefore protecting saga magma and megavalve. In 1990 again the same cars were pushed to 70k. To protect the coming iswara (1992) and wira (1993)
The last push happened in 1995 when new civic and corolla were pushed all the way to 100-110k mark to provide a safe playground for proton when the launched Perdana E55, satria GTi C99 and putra c99. The prices were pushed to max of 130k for 2.0 civic and corolla not too long ago.
Yes it did, but a bit of correction. In 1987 a corolla/civic was only 18-21K.
back then the new then Saga 1.3 was only 17k.
Then the price skyrocketed. I remember the cheapest “import” sedan you can buy in 1992 was the B13 Nissan Sunny “Super Saloon” at 60k+…and the Civic EG hit 80K, just before the Wira was launched.
Then, the C segment sedans all moved to 100+ plus shortly thereafter.
Correction. You still can get Nissan Sunny B11 Extra at 40k+. Also Ford laser 1.5GL, 45k+. Proton Saga 1.3 megavalve was 28k+.
Correction, the price of imports is due to demand and majority of customers who perceived foreign brand as better. tax for Honda n Toyotas today is not more than the kia, Hyundai and Proton.
Jual to vw group lo..then ppl ask drive what car? Hehe volkswagen
White elephant and rakyat have to feed since first day of its establishment till dooms day come .and dats for sure.bailout and rakyat money use to feed it and making us fool since 24 years plus.where to go and whom to complaint and who will kill this white elephant.as usual make it 2 much mess and no one could clear it
Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhari business model. Buy cheap from government. Sell high to market.
Someone should make it a teaching subject in universities.
Buy cheap. Then ask for cash injection.
Then take “public” loan.
Then flip for profit.
Get cheap as Government Crony then sell expensive to market… no need university course. A monkey also can do. Thats why open competition, they all cannot perform and die. Tongkat mentality.
The subject to learn is how to polish shoes and kiss asses.
Absolutely agreed !! To add on .. what about the soft loan which just approved couple of weeks ago? New owner absorb?
Buy cheap @3billion RM. U have that money? Only Malaysian known to have that much cash is our beloved PM.
Good to see that, Wise choice, if choice sell all stock,better don’t pusing sini pusing sana, selling all proton company to good foreign company so that proton have a fresh and good management from their new owner, just like having a good spirits and hardwork like daihatsu own company perodua, they only focusing on small car’s ,and building a cars that everyone can afford it (thus fuel economy) although their safety build quality still need to be improved. I have a car magazine mentioned about daihatsu jeponese history,spirit, hardworking and goal, it’s something that proton should learn about, even for all Malaysian ;)
I support the idea of Proton having a fresh start but whats the damage as it being MALAYSIA’s NATIONAL car status?
Are we not capable to adjust & Improvise at all?! This is crazy la.
Even with a soft loan also they can’t do better, whats the point of DRB-HICOM being there in the first place?! Soon long gone NATIONAL car status ….
Last last sold to P2…..
where are all the basher, came here..we have a kenduri for you!!!
Why kecoh kecoh? Go bash yourself lah …… in the toilet.
where are all the bashers, come here..we have a kenduri for you!!!
Syukurlahhh…
Buy one free one lotus ,good deal
Sad to see proton go, but it’s good riddance. Enough of tax payers money dumped into this brand. The team at proton have a lot of potential but it’s the management (I’m looking at you, cronies) that ruins it for everyone. Maybe with a foreign management who goes on merit and not cronyism will be able to inject life into this dying brand! All the best, Proton!
How bout the 1.2b soft loan
Going by how the Chinese in mainland are buying out debts, its probably Geely…
This news is atleast 10yr too late, everyone of us have given them ample chances… RIP
Sell to China & make Land Wind X7 la
I wonder if DRB has bought P1 below market price during 2012. Why MACC doing nothing on this? Or perhaps let see how much DRB make for selling P1. Then MACC only react?
hahahahahahahaha.
wait, its not funny.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
I never thought DRB Hicom would do Proton any better than previous since the acquisition and they just proved my concern few years later.
Idiots also know tak bolih jalan one.
DRB-Hicom Now
Proton satu kilo RM10!!
Proton satu kilo RM10!!
Proton satu kilo RM10!!
DRB-Hicom Later
Proton satu kilo RM5!!
Proton satu kilo RM5!!
Proton satu kilo RM5!!
DRB-Hicom Soon
Free!!
Free!!
Free!!
told u…the perdana won’t help proton to survive…totally wrong market strategy…
With the sale to a foreign ownership, let’s just hope that car taxes would be removed or at the very least minimal taxes. But it’s just wishful thinking.
you forgot the gov still owns Perodua. no way excise tax abolished.
wont happen.. govt might tax p1 as foreign brand as there no local share unlike p2 where local control the company.
Game over!
Out of all the potential partners and buyers, Volkswagen would be the best choice due to similarities in their product lineup. Proton could shared the Volkswagen’s MQB platform for its future generation models ie, Vento-Persona, Polo-Iriz, Golf-Suprima, Passat CC-Perdana, Scirocco-new Satria, Sharan-Exora and Tiguan-new Proton SUV. Plus the Germans culture are known for their no non-sense approach ie, no small talk, no sleeping on the job.
Nak bodek VW la tu. From last time they designed Waja grill to mimic Tuareg and now this new Saga to mimic Golf.
Much better than kereta terjungkit Bisa
VW have enough problems of their own now. The last thing they want is to add to it.
I afraid proton will eventually sell back to Khazanah at higher price.
It’s actually the likeliest thing to happen, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it actually eventuate. If it does gets sold, then Geely would be likeliest candidate because our gov is alienating USA and it’s affiliates in favor for the Chinese.
after taking the huge grant then now want to sell everything to foreigner ah?
Aiyoh…
Wat do u expect, the same management, marketing and designers maintained despite losing billion every year
Hey you guys should be happy by now. No more protection for proton that you guys always speak of. Always know to blame others and not yourselves.
Who need Proton actually, just gulung tikar and go back kampung la
So this mean the buyer of the upcoming Persona and Saga will be the last buyer of Proton’s car. Walauweh..collectors item just like Shell Lego Ferrari one.
Time for Proton Corporate to have a rebadge just like its cars. More efficient internal systems like engine and gearbox while changing the exterior like door panels. Cant wait!
“According to the report, CIMB Equities Research said that a successful disposal of Proton at a good price would act as a catalyst for the share price.”
Good price? Would you pay a good price for a haunted, about to collapse building?
Want the factory as SEA hub. Not those onz people Proton hired.
Technical wise, good price means fair valuation of the share price considering all the debts (gearing etc) and assets (RoA etc). There’s no investor out there who wants to buy debt-laden stocks for huge sum. Remember how much Uncle Tony bought the debt-ridden DRB-Hicom owned airline before it was rebranded as AirAsia (Yes!.. it was previously owned DRB-Hicom)?? It was RM1 ringgit.
Remember when gov bought back MAS at RM8 per share?
Looks like John’s beloved P1 will now have foreign overlords as owners. No wonder John so quiet la
He can always eat crow, resign and join P2.
no woman no cry
no proton nobody cry
In the wrong hand again and now the owner wants to wash hand off this? Wow, typical way of handling the problem by incompetent company.
No more hope…in ICU now…waiting for time!!
This is the gamechanger
Good move, after collecting soft loan to cover the loses and now finding someone to take over.
so much for the soft loan 1.5b, they got the money, then they selling proton share for more money
if good company buy proton, then lets hope for the best, if not, RIP proton.
this new will effect the sale of new saga and persona a bit.
If vw buy prodon than many owners shall become pissed off, suddenly their Vendor, Pasal, Cetak, GOLF become Petsona, Pondana, Supima and Satria Neo.me sure Lancer and Accord owners knw the feel, pay top ringgit than their car became junk selling much lower price any ah beng can buy
Should have sold a long time ago. However still not too late…
Really hope for Suzuki to bring forward good proposal to convince DRB Hicom stakeholders. My trusty source has spot Japanese officials (suzuki representative) visiting the PTMSB plant today.
Anway… Not Geely please.
PSA..yummy
508 = perdana
5008 = exora
3008 = suv
408 = persona
308 sedan = saga
108 = savvy
but without double wishbone and comes with aisin gearbox
SELL SELL SELL while still can…
Management completely lost with so many cronies dipping their feet in. 100% going down the drain..big drain la
Main problem with P1 is the skin culture issue. Everyone in Mys knows there is no way to overwrite the cronies policies unless BN voted out. Look at MAS, the new kuailo was trying so hard but end of day he realized all his efforts gone down to drain.
should have sold this off long time ago…
everytime, somebody’s itchy finger would press the emergency stop button.
proton has a better chance with a jap company rather than conti.malaysians still have nightmares with that renault engine/gearbox and citroen body that p1 used to use.
and p1 blew the chance with volks..since now volks is also down the toilet bowl due to dieselgate n dsg gearbox issues.
It will NOT happen because PROTON is a “National treasure” that repeatedly gets a government grant and finally it is PRESTIGE or for some a “MARUAH” thing.
Sell to Geely, then we will have cheaper volvo, and not forget their own low price flagship sedan and suv co-developed with volvo.
who the shit wants to buy proton. RM0 nobody wants la.. stupid car, stupid manufacturing, people work there stupid also. government also so stupid start proton. only stupid car company like VW, toyota, mitsubihi, honda will buy proton.
If proton were sold to naza, it would be better. Guess no one can beat syed mokhtar
Proton tutup kedai trus saja…..No need wayang here and there. No need to wait here and there. NOW.
Nobody will buy proton even for 10cents…..becoz there are hutang everywhere….
Pls sell it to a foreigner. So that we the Rakyat no longer have to carry this unnecessary burden.
After 35 years this lousy company has shown no signs of moving forward. They only know how to do copy and paste.
GM and Others can use Proton to be a SEA hub for design ASEAN-based car like how Toyota and Honda did, under the Proton brand but with GM/PSA technology but cheaper price, this not only turn Proton into SEA opportunity and also JOBS for local design, manufacturing.
Of course cronies part supplier need to improve else sayonara to them..
thats only if they sell EVERYTHING (which they have no choice now for DRB losing)
Proton lama, proton lamaaa!! Tukar baru… err sound like tilam lama..tilam lama tukar baru…
No need repay 1.5Billion loan.Pandai nya…….wah brilliant…… Great escape……..
DRB-HICOM is making a mistake. Equity stake (50% foreign, 50% DRB-HICOM) is perfectly acceptable, why sell the entire company ? Because it’s the easy solution ? But is it the right solution ?
Proton will have no say under full foreign ownership, they’ll lose all their IPs and progress, and become just another badge in the industry… like SEAT, Holden and Vauxhall… local badge, local production, but everything else is done by their parent company. How can we expect to develop local high-skill talent when our leader of automotive R&D just surrenders like this ?
Very disappointed with this news. I hope no such full-sale is made, let it be an equity stake. DRB-HICOM shouldn’t give up so fast, it’s only been 4 years, and now more than ever, Proton has the greatest chance of rebounding (sales wise) with the cheap new Saga and competitive BH Persona.
I just heard about this news on Television while having dinner. Unfortunately, this news is not true at all. DRB Hicom has denied this news completely. Although they did profit from this through higher share price.
Actually the reason why Proton is bleeding money has less to do with its own products, but largely due to LOTUS. Getting rid of LOTUS first would perhaps helps Proton in short term, before they can figure out about the long term plan.
LOTUS is expensive to maintain, its tecnologies and know-how should have been absorped completely into the existing Proton, instead of allowing LOTUS to run independently.
It is not because of Lotus. As of 2016, Lotus has stopped making losses, and by 2017 it is expected to become profitable. The new Lotus CEO has done a great job.
The Proton millstone around the neck must be getting heavier by the day. They can’t wait to get rid of it. When you cannot make a car cheaper or better it is best to cut loss and bail out.
Which race made up of the majority work force in Proton? We all already know why proton is still a crap company after 20 years in this business.
With the launched of Bezza and new myvi / Alza coming, Proton knows it’s new Saga and Persona cannot sustain it’s business. Their existing fleet like Preve and Exora sales dived to the maximum. Their Perdana lagi worst, my friend working in Proton say they probably sold like 200 units a month. Way way below the expectations. The only model they can sell is Iriz and that’s during their Raya season with massive discounts and many roadshows. After that the iriz sales will plummet like no tomorrow. I own a Proton, and will never own a Proton ever in my life again. I own myvi before and regretted selling it away. Proton can be a good brand, just like Hyundai or Kia or Subaru, it’s the people who manages it that destroy the brand. The quality of the cars now are worst than Waja period. The best car Proton has ever produced is still the Waja. Great handling. Powerful engine, smooth transmission, quiet NVH and pretty reliable and comparable to many Japanese C segment. However their new cars nowadays like Preve which I’m currently owning is by far the worst car I had ever driven. Exora is also by far the worst and crappiest MPV out there, my aunty complaining of its numerous problems. I really hope Proton can find a good partner like Perodua, it’s OK to lose some pride and rebadge other brand models. Many manufacturers does that anyway. Aussie Holden and GM, Scoda and Volkswagen, Ford and Mini, Mazda and Toyota, Peugeot and Citroen, Kia and Hyundai, they crosses platform with each other and uses each other engines and they sold millions of cars by doing so. So there’s a way for Proton too. Just like Perodua and Daihutsu, they are doing extremely well. Proton please please wake up and buck up for the sake of this brand Proton used to be Malaysians pride, however that was 20 years ago. 10 years back people started to lose trust in your company becos you doesn’t seem to care about what we Malaysians want or deserve. You don’t introduce anymore new cars, probably one model every 5 years. Other manufacturers overtook you by miles ahead and you still can’t figure out to make a proper engine with good and quiet drive train. It seems that the old Perdana and Waja days are gone. And now you waited 20 years and rebadge a 7 years old Honda Accord and call it your new Perdana? Malaysians are very disappointed. Even those overseas who had loved Proton felt disappointed. You used to be such a good manufacturers that probably had inspired other manufacturers with your Waja and Perdana with V6 engines and now you still cannot make a quiet and powerful 1.6L engine. All you have is the campro and only when your company suffers so tremendously on the verge of bankruptcy you wanna tell the world you have the turbo engines la which will be coming in 2017/2018. Don’t you think it’s too late to regain the trust of Malaysians? If your own people don’t buy your products how do you think the world will buy it?
My aunty my friend my neighbour cars typical, oh wai!
Yes, good move…sell it to other car maker wt bigger global market share. U can be profitable in the auto industry without sufficient global market share to absorb those cost r&d …etc…drb hicom will go belly up if its try to keep proton & it can also hv potential profit selling its stake. Simple economics…..