UPDATE 1-VW rejects report it near deal with Malaysia's Proton

(Reuters) - Quoting unidentified sources, the Edge financial daily said
Volkswagen was likely to take a 51 percent stake in a new
company into which would be injected Proton's key motor assets,
such as manufacturing, research and development, and
engineering.




But a Volkswagen spokesman rejected the idea that the
company was on the cusp of concluding talks with loss-making
Proton.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Proton Shares Slump After Volkswagen Talks Fail, Company Posts Annual Loss

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Proton Holdings Bhd.,
Malaysia's biggest automaker, fell after the government said
Volkswagen AG dropped plans to buy a stake and the Southeast
Asian carmaker posted its first annual loss in at least 17 years.

Proton stock, down 20 percent this year, fell as much as
3.7 percent in Kuala Lumpur today after the state-run automaker
yesterday reported a loss of 591.4 million ringgit ($174
million) for the 12 months ended March 31. Volkswagen, Europe's
biggest automaker, no longer wants a stake in Proton, Malaysia's
Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop told reporters today.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News