Bidders for Japan’s Takata will meet this month with the automakers crucial to its survival to think about alternatives, including a $3 billion bid, at a meeting that might identify the future of the air-bag maker, individuals knowledgeable about the matter stated.
Takata is looking for a monetary investor to help pay for substantial liabilities from the world’s greatest vehicle recall, with faulty air-bag inflators connected to a minimum of 15 deaths worldwide.
The conferences of the five bidding groups and automakers, who are Takata creditors and clients, will take place this month in New York, 4 individuals involved on the matter informed Reuters on Tuesday.
There is a bid from Japanese inflator maker Daicel Corp and U.S. buyout company Bain Capital, over 300 billion yen ($2.9 billion), it is backed by Takata’s steering committee of Japan-based lawyers and specialists, said a person associated with the procedure and one who was briefed on the matter.
That is the greatest bid for Takata, the source informed on the matter said. Automakers asked to meet with bidders, the sources said, as differences over whether to put Takata through bankruptcy makes the discussions more complex. Its $1.1 billion in capital is overshadowed by recall liabilities of some $10 billion, according to industry estimates, not to mention possible legal liabilities.
Bidders also include Sweden’s Autoliv, a worldwide competitor for Takata in air bags, in addition to a partnership between U.S. parts provider Key Safety Systems and private equity company Carlyle Group.
