Lotus headed for sale?

[nigelred5]

They didn't get that in the end did they?

Tony Fernandes was supposed to be waiting for Lotus to fall flat on its face so he could buy it off Proton for a pittance, I wonder if he's still interested.

Aren't his airline and a few more things he owns in Bankruptcy?

[SGWilko]

Aren't his airline and a few more things he owns in Bankruptcy?

AirAsia is doing OK I think, and he got a nice slice of the domestic market courtesy of the Malaysian Gov't in order to clear the way for Proton to retain the Lotus name exclusively.

It's VJ that has debts bigger than the average Eurozone country's economy.

[milly]

Lotus being up for sale has been rumoured for some time now. Dany Bahar's optimistic plans for expansion never did get much interest from investors and Lotus had to raise money from state owned Malaysian banks to fund its plans, they were supposedly forced to lend the money by the Malaysian government.

Oddly he has been frittering money away sponsoring anything on four wheels and celebrity endorsements when he should have spent everything possible on car development. I was surprised to hear the Indy engine project is still going on, where did they get the money from?

Incidentally Bahar has worked for Sauber, Red Bull and also Ferrari, all of whom were happy to see him go. He is not a car or product man but a PR and merchandising guy and it shows. His last act for Ferrari was to sign them up to supplying A1GP shortly before they went bust, the Italian team never saw their money from that deal.

If true the rumours indicate Proton has finally lost its patience with him and thats good news.

Dany Bahar has signed a four-year contract extension as CEO at Lotus.

AUTO RACING - INDYCAR: Busy Times For Lotus