Proton has insisted it is prepared to settle the ongoing Lotus naming saga out of court, but has vowed not to cave in to Tony Fernandes' current financial demands.
Fernandes, the boss of the Lotus team, revealed recently that he had been offered less than $10 million to settle the affair out of court. He claimed that 250 jobs were at risk if a settlement was not reached, but Proton is insistent it is willing to strike a deal.
Proton released a statement on Thursday claiming Fernandes is demanding between £22 million ($35 million) and £37million ($60 million) to settle.
The statement said Fernandes wanted the fee to include the sale of the Team Lotus name, as well as other factors including the development of a new brand, and loss of income from merchandise and sponsorship. Proton confirmed that it is willing to pay only for the name.
"For all intent and purposes, [Lotus] cannot now demand for us to compensate them for a problem which they got themselves into," said a statement from Proton, adding if "reasonable and justified proposals" were made, an out of court settlement was still possible.
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