DRB-Hicom still on lookout for foreign strategic partner

PETALING JAYA: DRB-Hicom Bhd is still searching for a foreign strategic partner (FSP) for Proton Holdings Bhd and will maintain its timeline to complete the process by the end of the second quarter this year.

In a statement released yesterday, DRBHicom confirmed that bidders were still in the running and that it was currently evaluating them.

“We have also stated that the process is a complex one, and DRB-Hicom intends to ensure that the chosen FSP will result in a win-win situation for all parties,” the conglomerate said.

The statement came two days after Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post reported that China’s Geely Automobile Holdings had withdrawn its bid to acquire a controlling stake in car manufacturer and distributor. Established in the 1980s, it was the sole national badged car company until Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) came along about a decade later.

The statement said the nature of negotiations was such that each party will look to secure the most beneficial deal that aligns with DRB-Hicom’s plans.

“It is a common process of negotiations that the bar is raised and lowered throughout the process, depending on what is put on the table,” it noted.

DRB-Hicom said it intends to see through the evaluation process and bring on a foreign strategic partner that is able to improve Proton’s future and benefit from Proton’s own strengths and capabilities.

An announcement will follow-suit once the process is completed, it added.

DRB-Hicom’s search for a foreign strategic partner for its wholly-owned car manufacturing company has been in the news of late.

Bloomberg had reported Geely founder Li Shufu (pic) as saying that DRB-Hicom kept changing its plans.

“They keep changing, today it’s this, tomorrow’s it’s that,” Li said in an interview in Beijing earlier this month.

DRB-Hicom said in a February report that the search for a foreign strategic partner was complex and a time-consuming process.

The conglomerate noted that once it received the bids, it would start detailed negotiations with the bidders to ensure the key considerations will be met.

DRB-Hicom also urged the public not to be misled by reports related to its current search for a partner and that an announcement will be made accordingly, once the process was over.

Proton’s search for a foreign partner goes back about a decade or more ago. It was about to complete a deal with the world’s then-fourth largest car company Volkswagen in 2006/2007 and again in 2010 with the same German car-maker but various issues scuttled the deal.