It’s now official; DRB-Hicom has reached an agreement with Zhejiang Geely for the Chinese carmaker to acquire a 49.9% equity stake in Proton.
The deal, which is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval, will also see Geely acquire a majority stake (51%) of Lotus from Proton. DRB-Hicom also announced that it will be selling off the remainder of its 49% stake in Lotus, exiting the sports car business.
Both parties expect to sign the definitive agreement before the end of July 2017. Geely also notes the agreement will allow it and Proton (along with its Lotus subsidiary) to “explore joint synergies in areas such as R&D, manufacturing and market presence.”
The Chinese carmaker says it is “committed to supporting the transformation of Proton and Lotus” with its expertise, and aims to “build Proton into the most competitive brand in Malaysia and a leading brand in Southeast Asia.”
“Our intention was always to ensure the revitalisation of the Proton nameplate. It was Malaysia’s first national car brand and has more than 30 years of history. This deal will be the catalyst to elevate a brand that Malaysians resonate with,” said DRB-Hicom group managing director, Datuk Sri Syed Faisal Albar.
Meanwhile, Geely group executive vice president and CFO Daniel Donghui Li commented: “With Proton and Lotus joining the Geely Group portfolio of brands, we strengthen our global foot print and develop a beachhead in South East Asia.”
“Geely Holding is full of confidence for the future of Proton, we will fully respect the brands history and culture to restore Proton to its former glory with the support of Geely’s innovative technology and management resources. We also aim to unleash the full potential of Lotus Cars and bring it into a new phase of development, thanks to our experience accumulated through Volvo Car’s revitalization,” he added.
The search for a foreign strategic partner commenced as part of the conditions of the government’s RM1.5 billion soft loan to the national carmaker, which was approved in April last year. Among those also rumoured to be in the running were Renault and Suzuki – the latter had signed a collaboration with Proton in 2015, which resulted in the production of the Proton Ertiga.
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main target is lotus not potong
Yes, Proton will rot on its own.
What will be the fate of the overbloated P1 workforce after this acquisition?
The big question in a marriage is to see how long the marriage will last.
I hope Proton staff change their attitude and start moving on the fast lane cause Geely is on the fast lane. Geely started in 1997, 13 years later than Proton yet it could buy Volvo and London Black Cab Co for cash. After that, they could even inject USD12 billion (RM55 billion) to make Volvo further healthy!
I hope and pray Proton staff can start running. 20 years just walking…..really don’t know.
Find a life Mr. Dont keep condemning. People are laughing at you.
Hope can take some market back from Perodua
49.9% of Proton, and 51% of Lotus to the Chinese.
New round of blame games starts now.
Imagine Volvo and Lotus collaborating. Though their cultures are different. One is about luxury and safety and the other is raw driving emotion.
Good, proton’ s biggest issue is the name/brand. People have developed a poor perception on the name regardless of the product.
In my opinion, Proton should ditch/change “Proton”. Now that Geely has Volvo, they should marry Volvo and Proton =VOLTRON
Voltron will bring new technologies, new perception, new confidence, and definitely new achievement.
LOL!!! FORM BLAZING SWORD
Brilliant idea I’ve ever read so far.
If the name it Voltron, I’ll consider buying one just because it sounds cool
LOL. After 2 mins of laughing, I came here to say I would rather proton changes their name to Geely straightaway. Just so I can hear makcik kampung ask their neighbour “oh, itu geli baru ke?”
Tongsan is coming woohoo
Geely > all
Volvo > all
Lynk & co > all
Proton > all
So DRB-Hicom still maintain 50.1% stakes in Proton. Proton status is still a national car.
I don’t know what Geely planned to do with Proton, or what Proton planned to do with Geely. I hope we can get more news on this matter.
I hope this transformation of Proton will be successful. No more excuses, please work harder.
It’s really not about the car or the technology we have. The most important thing is, to kill all the corruptions in Proton management, and kill all the lazy-rilek attitude. Those are the roots to today’s rotten Proton.
I wish Geely best of luck to deal with these terrible issues.
Geely previously mention about getting hold of Proton unused manufacturing hub and fully utilize it so that no space are left to waste. Proton on the other hand, I have no idea. The only proton products that looks promising is the Preve and Suprima. Exora is a good MPV but it’s kinda outdated already. What am I talking about? All pre-2016 models are rather outdated and needs updates. I hope Geely can turn the tables for Proton. They can do it with Volvo, so why can’t Proton?
Quote open:…”
Still, there’s a major difference between buying Volvo Cars and Proton, said Michael Dunne, president of Hong Kong-based consultancy Dunne Automotive. “With Volvo he inherited a talented corps of automotive executives and strong leaders,” he said. “At Proton, Geely-Volvo will need to bring fresh energy and capabilities.”
… Quote close.
What national car? No such thing.
Bye bye Sayonara Proton!
We all rakyat will be dancing whole day in joy for Proton!
wow! upon half an hour.. still no comment!
With 49.9% share, there is no controlling stake. History will surely repeat itself. Let’s just wait & see how long can this “marriage” stay.
I can’t brain this:
“Geely Holding is full of confidence for the future of Proton, we will fully respect the brands history and culture to restore Proton to its former glory”
What history? What former glory? History and former glory of rebadging cars?
In all seriousness, I think this deal is good to propel Proton and Lotus forward. Maybe we might have a chance to finally make a baby out of Proton and Lotus and call it Protus or Loton :)
“it will be selling off the remainder of its 49% stake in Lotus, exiting the sports car business.”
I think Proton 49% Lotus share sold to Geely and also get 2% more than Lotus. So, no more Lotus inside proton. Geely will control lotus
Congratulations. I sincerely hope all parties prosper from this. Geely, much like VW have a positive history of adding brands to their portfolio.
why 49% though? can they benefit with 49%? it is non-controlling stake right?
Sukak hati Geely want 49% or 49.99%. They knows what they doing.
Now this is official from P1. So apa kata bashers that were fortune tellings?
Goli den ..
So Geely only acquire 51% of Proton’s stake in Lotus? But in the news I read it is saying that as part of the deal, Geely would also buy the entire stake in Lotus from Proton.
If truly just 51% is not bad, but if entire stake then I don’t think its a smart move.
“it will be selling off the remainder of its 49% stake in Lotus, exiting the sports car business.”
I think Proton 49% Lotus share sold to Geely and also get 2% more than Lotus. So, no more Lotus inside proton. Geely will control lotus
What is the numbers in RM actually?
lai lai Laksamana Cheng Ho dari Tiongkok…
Finally, someone bought Proton! We, Malaysian will not miss you for your failed management (for the past 30 years) and being a leech continuously sucking our hard earn tax payers’ money to bail you (shit) out.
Proton v40 proton xc90. Huhhhuhuhu…
Proton Emgrand GT replace Perdana, no need pay royalty to Honda anymore.
Proton Boyue SUV incoming very soon, gonna disrupt the mid-segment market.
Geely > all
Proton > all
First step is to remove all staff and vendors that are inefficient. Second step make sure Proton to drastically step up the qualiy of its products. Third step is to produce cars that Malaysian or SEA wanted the most. Affordable, reliable, fuel-efficient and distinctive design. Affordable to be purchased and affordable in term of maintenance. Reliable in all harsh and no suddend breakdown especially in long term. Fuel-efficient, which has been far-fetch from Proton has to be achieved with the new GDi engine, stronger and lighter chasis. Distinctive design not only in looks but how to optimize small footprint but result in spacious, comfort and exclusive cabin.
If all the corrupted management level, with all the lazy rilek workers, still stay with the company, Geely don’t need to talk about product quality, fuel efficiency, nor design. It’s all rotten from the inside. Have to kill all the parasites first.
Bf
No mention of giving volvo tech to proton whtsoever. Dream on.
#EatingPopCornWhileWaitingForProtonBashersToComeIn
wonder what will Proton Bashers would say about this news
Apa lagi yang China mau?
Apa lagi yang MY mau jual?
Apa lagi bashers mau complain?
Hopefully the Chinese can teach us how to do business. It is rather obvious that Proton does not know how to run itself.
But be warned. The Chinese from China are very hardworking. They will not tolerate lepak and tido in office or factory hours.
And they will definitely not tolerate minum teh and makan kuih lapis in the kantin 8x a day.
I hope Proton workers are ready for a paradigm shift in thinking. Don’t be like the Mat Salleh CEO who got a shock to see MAS workers sleeping during office hours and then later arguing that it was their RIGHT to do so!
Proton started in 1985. Geely started in 1997. But Geely managed to have so much of money that they could buy Volvo and London Black cab in cash. This shows how fast they work. Super light speed. In 20 years, they are so cash rich.
Geely even had to ability to pump US$12 billion into Volvo. That is RM55 billion. Super fast speed.
How are the two cultures going to get married?
Jual pun bash.
X jual pun bash.
*Facepalm* Whut?
That is a marriage of convenience.
Suspect Geely only wanted Lotus and Tanjong Malim. Made no sense why Geely wanted to buy Proton. The brand itself is worthless in Malaysia, much less overseas. The technology antiquated.
They can let the 51% run themselves to the ground, then buy up the rest for cheap. I would say smart move, the 51% is still going to ask the government for aid, so Geely does not need to bail out Proton fully.
10000000% agreed
“… respect the brands history and culture to restore Proton to its former glory …”
1. Brand history: What history in Proton was sweet & proud? one of the 10 in the world that make their own engine? Or ride & handling? that’s all from Lotus! Even Campro engine doesn’t gain any praise.
2. Oh please, don’t ever Don’t restore ‘culture’ to its previous state! We sacrifice too much to change this culture from the past with only a little success!
3. Former glory: What glory? Ride & handling? That’s from Lotus. Waja as answer to BMW? That was a joke. Hot-press-metal? It needs a great car to shine else it’s as impressive as hard metal only.
I’m not bashing, correct me if I’m wrong. The only thing that impress me abt proton nowadays are they use proper material compared to car in its class, but their assembly quality still debatable.
Owe people so much money still wanna talk about Culture. Culture of continuing owe money is it?
Long overdue.
We have so many DATO, DATUK, TAN SRI. BUT CAN’T DO ANY GOOD. All they know bolot sana, bolot sini. very doubtful what are the CONTRIBUTION to country. Only keep on selling. Land, GLC, NAME IT. Untung Dia punya, rugi Rakyat bayar.
WOW…so Volvo to now become national car. Will it be cheaper?
Suddenly all car experts appear in PT blog.
At last.. Now remove all the taxes and duties on other cars please.
Nice..finally china men come to the rescue..good for proton
What??!!! Bash Now!!!
Since acquired, time to return the 1.5 + 1.7 bil to the govt maybe? Don’t pura pura buat bodoh yeah :)
hope that their hybrid and full ev cars comes to malaysia. in china they are selling for Rm50-120k. send it one or two models and show the world what china’s automotive industry looks like. Unlike previous poorly managed china car company in town.
its funny how i read an article from shanghai’s news media. they said proton was not doing well last year and took a loan from the government of ‘150万令吉'(RM 1,500,000) this sum sounds so fishy 0.o
Looking at how certain big estate development by China Developer is treated, possibility it will be same case as Proton. Malaysia ASK(REQUEST) for collaboration, when China step in to collaborate. Then Malaysia certain NGO will make noise as it doesn’t favor them. Noise like: why no locals can? Why bring in China foreign worker? Why bring in more cost competitive china Supply chain?…they have forgotten, business is business, no one wants to buy an entity without looking at return of investment. Those Lepas USPR NGO wont understand that.
China slowly conquering Msia economically.
Jual pun bash.
X jual pun bash.
Menangliaolor!
Cash is king. No cash, no business.
Congrats Geely. Hope you know what you’re getting yourself into. Best of luck anyway.
Another selling out of our country’s pride to foreigners by our government. absolutely no shame
you cannot differentiate shame or pride ? are you sick ?
proton wasted billions and is a laughing stock around the world.
Tun M is crying now
Meanwhile rakyat enjoice?
Today – 24th May 2017 – marks historic day for Proton and the Malaysian auto industry. After 12 years of searching, Proton has finally found a partner in Geely Group. Congratulations !
Dearest Geely Group, it is my hope that, in 3 or 5 years time, you will prove how wrong I was for doubting you since day one.
I hope Geely will go on to earn my trust, the trust of 30 million Malaysians, and Dr. M himself. Prove us all wrong, prove that you were the right one all along.
Geely, Volvo, Lynk & Co, LTI … and soon Proton and Lotus alliance. Looks very promising.
This 49.9% stake is so far the highest Proton has been under foreign ownership. In the 1980s and 90s, Mitsubishi held 30%.
As for Lotus… Let it not go unsaid that Proton took good care of Lotus for the last two decades. In fact, it was under Proton/DRB-HICOM ownership that Lotus finally turned profitable for the first time in its 60+ year existence.
Had it not been for Bahar, Lotus may have turned profitable much sooner even. Jean-Marc Gales has done a fantastic job thus far. Sure, Proton could have done more for Lotus, but they’ve done more for Lotus than BMW did for Rover, that’s for damn sure.
Ultimately, the survival and prosperity of Lotus is what matters, and a growing company like Geely will be able to provide the funds needed for Lotus to grow even further in the coming years.
Goodspeed and best of luck to all.
Godspeed, may under Geely’s guidance and experience, Proton truly become Volvo of Asia, not in a sarcastic way! Yea!
Geely > all
Volvo > all
Lynk & co > all
Proton > all
Yeah man tokmoh, I think this is the last chance Proton might get to set things straight.
Proton is already out of time, and if they can’t establish themselves financially and move upmarket, Proton might drown in a sea of cheaper, better Chinese brands. MG is already making big strides in Thailand. Haval is going places too. Proton will have to work very hard in the coming years.
But hard work always pays off, Proton can still make it. With Geely’s funding and network, Volvo’s technology and experience, and Proton’s current models plus the future GDI engine… Proton really has no excuses anymore. It is all or nothing !
Geely group only interested with Lotus ….potong Is dead fish waiting for Geely to sell its 49.9% stake to some other startup china manufacturer down the road …. if not for Potong hold on to Lotus, this deal would not have been done. Aero still talking shit like a broken radio …wipe your mouth Aero …bullshit still dripping out !!
Haters gonna hate.
Also, your propensity for defamatory outbursts only strengthens my resolve… it means I’m doing something right. So, err, thanks ? I guess.
Yeah. Haters gonna hate, no matter what the decision. Just keep up the gud work.
Hope this strategic alliance works as Geely did not grow organically like Tata of JaguarLandRover fame. Volvo was a success story because they lack money not expertise unlike Proton.
choose your name… geelyton, povolton, etc…
Nothing can save Proton if they are adamant in protecting their cronies and political favouritism in business execution.
Geely ain’t give to shit about Proton, Geely main target is actually Lotus. Nothing, not even healthy injection of funds from Proton’s new found Chinaman’s sugar daddy would stop the bleeding,if Proton’s rotten core of cronyism and oligarchs are spare from being surgically removed (just like a cancer tumour).
Proton’s has a small and competent engineering team, one of global’s best, judging what they can do with so little resources. And dare I say, the recent Persona and Saga are pretty darn good cars. However, the oligarchs and cronies who are shield from political favouritism must go. To them, running a business is not to provide value to the customers. A business to them, is a mean to milk and suck as much effortless-easy-money as possible, since the government will bail them out if things go wrong (just like MAS).
It was these bastards in helm who make Proton cars so lousy, creating junk cars that infuriate Malaysians, many whom has fallen victim to Proton’s lousy quality, and vowed never to buy a Proton again. Just as Proton is turning out junk after junk, Perodua launch the GREAT MYVI, and the rest is history.
The core value of car making business is the same as any others: Create value for your customers, value them (not treat them like shit like Proton used to do), make them happy and they will come back for more. If Proton’s internal corruption and the twisted logic of running a business for cronies and not for the market stay put, then Proton is set for certain doom, Geely bought over or not.
I hope with such drastic change in Proton, Geely may find a way to wipe out the last remnant of Proton’s protected crony, and inject a new breath to make Proton the pride of Malaysia again.
In the 90’s, Proton is a rising car manufacturer with the capacity to buy Lotus from the hands of the British. China cars, meanwhile, was virtually unheard of. Today, Proton is a failing slump and Geely is a cash giant. That pretty much summed up the fate of what Malaysia and China had gone through during the same period.
Good luck Proton
LP & PL….no change.
Geely don’t need to worry about success or failure of protong since they are not the main owner…..for whatever reason the Tuan’s face still the priority. It cannot not fail ! Ppl will still continue to bail out Protong down the road.
Interesting… new p1 based on geely platforms within 2 to 3 years? Is there any hope for redemption for p1?
Wow… Did I just feel Proton is nearing its death even sooner than I thought? Although Lotus is losing money (I know, I know, they recently made few millions after years of losses), but still is a priced asset and brand. Now that is gone, what is left? Campro? The fact that they didn’t take controlling stake in Proton didn’t matter. If Proton continue to bleed, Geely won’t inject and gov again take people money to rescue crony company yet again. This deal really bad for Malaysian. On top of that, Syed Mokhtar just have to pay 50millions pound to own 49% of Lotus. Fuh, crony never die…