Up To 51 Percent of Proton Up For Sale – Skoda, Suzuki, Renault, Peugeot Interested

DRB-Hicom, the government linked conglomerate that owns Proton Holdings, is rumoured to be looking to sell as much as 51 percent of Proton to raise funds to turn around the ailing national car maker.

According a report by Bloomberg, citing two unidentified individuals familiar with the matter, Proton is talking to several interested suitors, which now includes Volkswagen’s budget brand Skoda, Suzuki, Renault and Groupe PSA (Peugeot and Citroen).

"A stake of as much as 51 percent will be sold in Proton, which also owns British sports-car maker Lotus Cars Ltd., two people said," said Bloomberg.

The report also added that the list of suitors will be trimmed down by the end of October.

A separate report by The Star has also linked the Naza Group, the distributor Peugeot and Citroen vehicles in Malaysia, expecting Naza to be involved at a later stage if discussions between Proton and Groupe PSA proceeds well.

Suzuki already has an established ties with Proton, with the upcoming Suzuki Ertiga-based Proton MPV to be the first of at least two upcoming Suzuki-based Proton models.

Peugeot, along with the Volkswagen Group have in the past held similar discussions with Proton but didn’t nothing materialized from those talks.

Update: Proton Stake Sale: 5 Buyers Interested, Decision By 2018