KUALA LUMPUR: Tan Chong Motor Holdings Bhd yesterday denied that it was joining the race to bid for Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s 42.7% stake in national carmaker Proton Holdings Bhd.
Tan Chong’s announcement to Bursa Malaysia yesterday was made in response to press reports that quoted a AmResearch report on the matter.
AmResearch’s report on Tuesday said Tan Chong has been invited to submit its bid and is working on a proposal to buy the strategic stake in Proton.
But yesterday, Tan Chong’s board announced that it “has neither received any formal invitation nor has any plan to bid for the stake in the national carmaker Proton Holdings Bhd”.
Tan Chong, which distributes Nissan and Renault cars, was cast by AmResearch as a dark horse in the race for the strategic stake in Proton.
Other suitors for Proton include its chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh, tycoon Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary’s DRB-Hicom Bhd and the Naza group.
The Edge weekly recently reported that businessman Tan Sri Arumugam Apavoo Packiri and Genii Capital’s Gerald Lopez could submit a joint bid for the 42.7% block in Proton.
On the back of the news, Tan Chong shares gained 11 sen yesterday to close at RM4.29 on a thin volume of 17,500 shares. Proton rose three sen to RM5.28 with 4.84 million shares traded.
This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, January 12, 2012.
Tan Chong’s announcement to Bursa Malaysia yesterday was made in response to press reports that quoted a AmResearch report on the matter.
AmResearch’s report on Tuesday said Tan Chong has been invited to submit its bid and is working on a proposal to buy the strategic stake in Proton.
But yesterday, Tan Chong’s board announced that it “has neither received any formal invitation nor has any plan to bid for the stake in the national carmaker Proton Holdings Bhd”.
Tan Chong, which distributes Nissan and Renault cars, was cast by AmResearch as a dark horse in the race for the strategic stake in Proton.
Other suitors for Proton include its chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh, tycoon Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary’s DRB-Hicom Bhd and the Naza group.
The Edge weekly recently reported that businessman Tan Sri Arumugam Apavoo Packiri and Genii Capital’s Gerald Lopez could submit a joint bid for the 42.7% block in Proton.
On the back of the news, Tan Chong shares gained 11 sen yesterday to close at RM4.29 on a thin volume of 17,500 shares. Proton rose three sen to RM5.28 with 4.84 million shares traded.
This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, January 12, 2012.
