Takata asks for extra time to complete sale after airbag scandal
25/10/2017
Takata filed for bankruptcy protection in its home country, Japan, and in the US earlier this year.
Weaknesses in some of the air-bags Takata supplies to a wide range of automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have resulted in deaths and injuries and the recall of millions of vehicles. A criminal investigation in the US, focusing mainly on falsification of test data, has led to Takata facing a bill of $1 billion in fines and in compensation payments. Recent reports say it still owes around $850 million of this.
It said in June it had reached an agreement for KSS to acquire all parts of its business that remain unaffected by the criminal investigation. On October 22, however, Takata submitted court papers asking for an extra 90 days to finalise the sale, valued at $1.6 billion.
In its submission, Takata argued that the complexity of the case and its global nature had made it “laborious” and that this was the main reason for asking for extra time.
KSS commented at the time of the original announcement that Takata was likely to continue to run its remaining assets until the proceedings it faces are complete. At that point, according to KSS, what remains of Takata will “eventually be wound down”.
As recently as mid-October, OEMs including Mercedes, Jaguar Land Rover and Mitsubishi were still issuing recall notices on vehicles containing Takata airbags.
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