China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group has decided to withdraw its bid to acquire Malaysia’s first national carmaker Proton, according to reports in China.
An Conghui, president of Geely, reportedly told Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post his company would not follow up on its initial bid to acquire Proton.
The news emerged on the sidelines of the release of Geely’s latest financial results which saw its net earnings rise by 126% to CNY5.1bn (US$740m) in 2016.
Indications that Geely, which owns Sweden’s Volvo Cars, was getting cold feet emerged last month when company chairman Li Shufu revealed his frustration at Proton parent company DRB-Hicom’s “constantly changing position” regarding future control of Proton.
While PSA Peugeot Citroen is also seen as a serious bidder for Proton, it may well be that Geely wants to put additional pressure on DRB-Hicom to give up control of the struggling carmaker
While PSA Peugeot Citroen is also seen as a serious bidder for Proton, it may well be that Geely wants to put additional pressure on DRB-Hicom to give up control of the struggling carmaker.
For Geely, Proton represents a one-off opportunity to build a presence in South-east Asia’s 3.3m annual vehicle market.