KUALA LUMPUR, June 23 (Xinhua) -- China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group on Friday signed a definitive agreement to acquire a 49.9 percent stake in Malaysia's loss-making carmaker Proton, 30 days after an initial deal was reached between Geely and DRB-Hicom, the Malaysian conglomerate that owns 100 percent of Proton.
The deal was valued at 460.3 million ringgit (108 million U.S dollars), including a cash injection of 170.3 million ringgit into Proton by Geely, and a sports utility vehicle platform that was valued at 290 million ringgit, said DRB-Hicom managing director Syed Faisal Albar at a joint press conference following the signing ceremony.
Syed Faisal said their immediate focus is to re-claim their position as Malaysia's best-selling car.
"Proton will now focus their efforts with Geely to gain market share domestically. With the joint capabilities of both companies, I am positive that we will be able to impact the market positively, by coming out with products that meet market preferences in terms of design and quality," he added.
Under the agreement, Geely will also buy a 51-percent stake in Proton's British carmaker Lotus.
Geely's chairman Li Shufu also highlighted that his priority is to turn Proton and Lotus into a profitable entities.
He also said Proton and Lotus will create synergies for Geely to position themselves as a major player in the Southeast Asian market, which in turn will enhance the group's global position and help them to achieve sales target of 3 million units by 2020.
