I think Proton has some explaining to do. It sold MV Augusta for 1 euro after buying it for RM368 million. Now look at this – AP reports on 11 July the following:
Harley-Davidson Inc. said Friday it will buy Italian motorcycle maker MV Agusta Group for about $109 million to boost its presence in Europe, giving it entry into the popular performance bike market there.
And here’s a report from Bernama a couple of years ago.
Proton Defends Sale Of MV Agusta
KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 (Bernama) — In what appears to be an unending saga, Proton Holdings Bhd has again come out in defence of its sale of financially-troubled MV Agusta, reiterating that there were no synergies between the motorcycle maker and Proton as a car maker.
Describing continued criticisms over the sale and change in management announced by Proton in July 2005 as “uninformed speculation”, the national car company said there was “a refusal among some to acknowledge explanations provided earlier”.
Proton was obviously referring to its adviser and former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and its former chief executive officer Tengku Tan Sri Mahaleel Tengku Ariff who have continued their criticisms over these matters.
“There were no operational, engineering, and technological synergies between Agusta and Proton. This has been independently confirmed by Proton’s appointed advisers. Proton manufactures cars for the masses while Agusta manufactures motorcycle,” the company said in a statement Friday.
The saga began to unfold on June 28, 2005, when Tengku Mahaleel, in an interview with a vernacular paper, complained that the government was not supporting Proton enough and that it was being treated unfairly.
His last salvo on the matter was at a press conference at his house in Damansara here on April 14, where he claimed that key questions raised by himself and Dr Mahathir have not been answered, among which was the loss that Proton, which bought MV Agusta for RM500 million, incurred when it sold its stake in the Italian company for one euro.
Proton bought a 57.75 percent stake in MV Agusta in December 2004 for 70 million euro (RM367.6 million).
The current management sold the stake to Italy’s GEVI Spa, which also assumed the motorcycle maker’s 107 million euro debt.
Proton said the entire purchase consideration of RM367.6 million was treated as goodwill and written off in the financial year ended March 31, 2005.
The additional provisions relating to MV Agusta in the accounts of the Proton group for the financial year ended March 31, 2006, amounted to RM136.2 million.
“In the event MV Agusta falls into bankruptcy, Proton would have been subjected to a contingent liability for an amount of up to RM923.1 million,” Proton said.
The company also reiterated that the decision to dispose the stake in MV Agusta was after careful consideration of the financial and operational implications to the Proton group, both in the immediate as well as the long term.
“The primary consideration was to minimise future potential losses for the group,” it said.
According to Proton, it wants to put the matter to rest as it needs to move forward to focus on its core business, which is designing, engineering, manufacturing and selling cars that appeal to the market.
“The key challenge now for Proton is to achieve real progress and advancement in this very competitive global automotive industry,” the company said.
– BERNAMA
Not only Proton is facing lack of confidence from the public, now this!
So what Mahathir has been saying all this while is so true.
Tun, I honestly want to belanja you makan toseh lah at Saravana Bhavan in Bangsar tomorrow. We can kena the onion and chilli Uthappam later.
So sad lah, mismanagement of money. Rakyat’s money. Now you know why we have RM150 million per KM highways.
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If proton is not able to “repair” MV Agusta, better they sell it at 1 euro rather than proton wont be profitable until now.
Tengku should be blame for purchasing MV Agusta. not the other way round
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managers of our country have no business acumen. they lack a futuristic mind. they can only do business when there is a monopoly, even this has oftentimes failed. they have closed minds. mahathir was right when he qiestioned these people for selling MV Augusta for 1 euro. perwaja flopped, proton has to survive with a crutch, many GLCs are in bad shape… it goes on. pertol dollars are put to waste. this is how we manage our country. can we survive the next economic turmoil which is going to happen soon? please learn from singapore…
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This is a clear-cut case of the damnable manner in which the Pak Lah Administration has somnambulistically conducted business. What a sham! I’m not a fan of Dr M or Mahaleel, but this certainly makes them look a shade better than the current bunch, that’s for sure!
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MAHALEEL … CEO is another guy that needs to be investigated once there is a change in the govt.
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maybe the guy whom proton sold to did manage to turn around the company in one year & sold it. Mahaleel can c*** all he wants, but it is his decision to buy it at a high price and neglect to make the business work.
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SIGH…SIGH…SIGH…!!!
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Well done !! Keep up the good job. Good business judgement from proton. A company lead by … people.
Proton have wasted 367,999,999 malaysia tax payer money.
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I believe another similar case in making … “Lotus” !!
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There is no doubt this was a bad investent for Proton.
But on the face of it, we have to buy their explanation that, faced with assuming further loans liabilities and capital injections of the order of several hundres of millions, and a lackof synergy with its car division, coupled with Protons ‘negative profits’, this was the most prudent course of action to take i.e. cut their ‘losses’ and stop the bleeding permanently.
The key to unravelling the whole kaboodle is if some one could reveal if Gevi Spa is a genuine Italy company. Or whether it is owned by off-shore tax haven companies controlled through nominees of any Malaysian party, which has hitherto circumvented disclosure and conflict of interest laws her, and possibly defrauded the Government.
This is THE $64 thousand dollar question!!
http://donplaypuks.blogspot.com
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Not only that….In July 2007 MV Agusta Motor S.p.A, sold the Husqvarna motorcycle brand to BMW Motorrad for an undisclosed amount.????
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To sell any company at Euro 1 dollar after buing the company for RM300+ million is just a unlogical … Maybe when Proton buy MV Augusta, they have bought it at below market.. And maybe they have some information which is not available to the common market…
Just imagine buying a house for RM200k, and suddenly because you cannot service the loan, you sell the house for RM1 dollar, it is really beyond comprehension…
Well, in Malaysia, the problem is the lack of transperency in these type of dealings… It is very “disturbing” when a public listed company can really walk away comfortably with these kinds of transaction, without even having to answer the publics, the shareholders and maybe the board of directors also does not have any inquiries on the business dealings…
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Malaysians are not gripping on the desposal of the company. People are questioning the rationale of buying it for 368 millions and then giving it away just like that. It’s stupid to throw away millions into the drain and it reflect very badly on the ability of Proton’s management and business capabilities. Many Malaysian companies would love to buy it for millions but were never offered. The whole espisode stinks to high heaven. Somebody out there (could)’ve made millions in commission.
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This doesn’t negate the fact that there was mass mis-management and bad decisions during the old mans time and systemic corruption through the legalized NEP programs (started by Razak and now we see it in Najib) in the name of uplifting the poor malay bumiputra. In the process some very priviledged Umnoputras have become billionaires with very little effort while the malay bumiputra is hood winked into believing that UMNO leaders are fighting for their cause by throwing some crumbs at them relatively when taken into a comparative perspective.
Having said that, the new regime was no better; in fact worse in the sense that it is out of control and having a free for all; for all Umnoputras. But this reflects the incompetence of the select few Umnoputra bumiputras who are out to wipe off the wealth of this nation.
Sheer incompetence fueled with greed for money and power. What a waste, its a pity but I can see us in several decades and we will be another rich but became poor nation story??
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Have always believed that there is some real ship n the selling off of MV Augusta for 1 Euro. The Multi Million Dollar question is (is there a) MALYSIAN behind the company (Gevi Spa?) which bought mv Augusta for the miserable 1 Euro. (A) very close relative of (one of our dear leaders)? Any one wants to contribute towards the cost of a thorough investigation … (to find out who was) behind the Hellfire sale of mv Augusta?????
Maybe I should do just that and then take bets on who is the devil behind the robbing us Malaysians further. The bets taken should more than pay for the clinical check up of the Hantu behing the deal.
For the record, Tengku mahaleel was the CEO of Proton when Proton bought mv Augusta under instructions from Mahathir. He WAS IN NO WAY INVOLVED in the sale of the company- he had actually voiced serious objections to the Fire Sale”. and cannot be blamed for the sale.
Also as rightly pointed out by djnascimanto, mv Augusta (Gevi?) sold off the Husqvarna brand about a year ago as well for 93Million Euro. Enche Hantu Malaysia has walked off with a very, very large profit from both these sales and we Rakyat Malaysia have again (apparently been) “sodomised” by the powers that be and their close relatives.
AND PAK LAH STILL WANTS US TO TRUST HIS LEADERSHIP AND THE LEADERSHIP OF BN C*****!!!!
NO MORE !!!!!! Wake up, malaysians and Wake Up all those who are still in a drunken stupor that BN has put all of us in. Remember – ENOUGH IS JUST F****** ENOUGH !!! Enough of this Political SO-DOM-MEEEE !!!!!
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I believe there are more mismanage of Rakyat money beside MV Augusta. These mismanage money are suppose to improve Rakyat basic needs and enjoying greater standard of living. It’s really really really suck ! Wish 70% of the eligible voters to wake up and vote PR in PRU13.
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So-called businessmen, they’re just playing with the rakyat’s money like it’s monopoly money.
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Tun Mahathir and Tengku Mahaleel have been vindicated!
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Leave the politics out of it. And look at from an economic angle.
There is no justification in buying Agusta since Proton can’t even make good cars under Mahleel (though the ones made in last 2 years are of much better quality).
At the point of selling, the Rm 300 M is a sunk cost. Also the agreement that Proton signed was so obviously in favour of Augusta that one wonder how this could have been accepted. The fact that the BOD of Proton was by-passed in this decision is another aspect that reflects badly on Mahleel.
As such, the decision to sell it at 1 euro was justified in my opinion.
The fact that BMW and Harley paid so much more is not a question that we need to concern ourselves with as these companies have decades of experience in motobikes. Had this company stayed in Proton stable, we could have lost hundreds of millions more.
Anyway, I guess the situation behind BMW and Harley is different as they bought the brand name without the manuf arm since they make bikes themselves.
Let’s not kid ourselves, thank god that we got out that mess early.
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[...] HARLEY BELI AGUSTA USD 109 juta – Proton jual 1 euro. Posted on July 14, 2008 by Ibnu Khuzaimah Dijual oleh Proton pada harga 1 Euro, dan dianggap sebagtai penjualan yang betul oleh Proton (laporan bernama), kini setelah 2 tahun ia dijual dengan harga 1 euro, dijual semula dengan harga USD 109 juta kepada Harley Davidson! [...]
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…….a sad reflection of the government appointed clowns in Khazanah. This bunch of village champions have no ability competing outside their home turf.
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B******* on your comment “As such, the decision to sell it at 1 euro was justified in my opinion.” Killer old chap.
You do not be a savvy ( or even a moron of a) businessman to know that you do not sell a 300+ million investment for 1 euro. For that matter, have you ever wondered why or asked why, the BOD of proton did not care to offer MV Augusta – AT 1 Euro – to any other Malaysian companies or individuals first before so very suddenly selling it off to this mysterious company Gevi or whatever s*** name it was. Even I would be interested in paying 1 EWuro maybe even 10 Euro for the shares that Proton hived off. Hey 1 Euro will not even buy me a model motor cycle. If ever any Malaysian still believes that the sale is above board and “justified” (HA!!!) then I will have no need whatsoever to call these Malaysians are whole lot of stoooopid d******* To me, Bodohla, family and cronies Sdn Bhd have taken us all for another round of sodomee a’ la’ Anwar.- and they still continue to accuse him of the “crime”!
Your final comment on the ” situation behind BMW and Harley is different as they bought the brand name without the manuf arm since they make bikes themselves” just proves the point, Killer friend. Proton would have made the money by just selling the brand names and still have stock, property and whatever left that can be sold off to our Mamak Recycle man for a tidy sum. What else you guys want to say????
Admit it, we all have been screwed … by the very people some of us still chose to believe and trust in.
Sudah lah, I will be starting to campaign for anyone and any party that does not reek of the stink of BN.
God save this country of ours from the greed of the crooks.
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If Tun Mahathir and his lackey Mahaleel can’t count – Harley paid approx RM90 mil after absorbing debt of RM219 mil- then they should’nt have attempted to play around with Malaysia’s precious reserves in the billions.
I would liken the past and present administration’s (mismanagement or) misapropriation of our funds – MAS, PROTON, PERWAJA, MARA, BRIDGES TO NOWHERE, DAMS, ….unfortunately the list goes on – to allowing (alleged) looters the keys to the Treasury.
As with past instances of (alleged) theft like (alleged) kickbacks taken for purchases of MAS Aircraft there probably was money taken when MV Augusta was purchased and again when sold (genius!)
Unfortunately the lowly rakyat, the taxpayer who is abused and insulted frequently by politicians in our Parliament, swaggering about with their openly arrogant, loathsome and odious behaviour.
Ensconced in their palaces built of ill gotten gains they have long forgotten their place as servants of the people. I believe that what we are now getting a glimpse of is just a tip of the iceberg. People like Nazri, Hishamuddin, Khairy to name a few have gotten away with acts that in any civilised country would have found them relegated to the garbage heap that they belong to (expelled from government and [perhaps] charged for sedition).
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Oh! and I forgot to give mention to our great Tun. What’s the holdup with investigating him? The many people now coming out bravely ready to face him in court should be enough for the powers that be to mount some kind of commission. If Malaysians were to vote on this at least 60-70% (those not hoodwinked) would vote for inquiry into his children’s dealings and other Malaysian “businessmen” who were close to him during his reign.
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I would just like to say that these gentlemen trusted with managing the countries wealth have been doing such a commendable job that they deserve whatever rewards they give themselves(both official and unofficial).
And what rewards! On the official note, a friend just purchased an Audi at a dealership in … … and got access to information that Khazanah purchases luxury vehicles for it’s top officers. Allegedly an Audi Q7 (RM800,000.00 or thereabouts) among other cars in the range of RM300,000.00 – RM600,000 have been purchased for their top execs over the last few years. Man these guys know how to spend the rakyats money! Syabas, here’s to the good life! Of course the lowly Proton would’nt have been good enough.
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