Japan's fourth-largest auto-maker, Mitsubishi Motors Corp, sold its 7.93 percent stake in Proton on Monday, the beginning of the end to its 20-year relationship with the Malaysian car maker.
Mitsubishi Motors, which recently raised its full-year loss forecast, hired investment bank CIMB Bhd to sell 43.5 million shares to institutional investors to raise some $112 million based on Proton's closing price on Friday.
"The book building exercise is on an accelerated basis," one dealer told Reuters. "It was done in about two hours and demand was pretty good". Mitsubishi Motors and Mitsubishi Corp have been key partners to Proton since its inception in 1983, supplying engines and car designs.
"It appears to be an amicable split. Nobody's going out with hard feelings," said Azrul Azwar Latif, an analyst with GK Goh.
Proton reported a surprise quarterly loss last month as sales of foreign models outpaced its ageing models. In a bid to recapture market share, it recently introduced an all-new sedan powered by its own Campro engine.