REVscene Automotive Forum - TAKATA files for bankruptcy

it was only a matter of time... hope those of you affected had your airbags replaced because it could take longer now despite claims it will be business as usual:

Japanese airbag maker Takata files for bankruptcy, gets U.S. sponsor

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-t...-idUSKBN19G0ZG

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Quote:

Japan's Takata Corp (7312.T), the firm at the center of the auto industry's biggest ever product recall, filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States and Japan, and said it would be bought for $1.6 billion by U.S.-based rival Key Safety Systems.

In the biggest bankruptcy of a Japanese manufacturer, Takata faces tens of billions of dollars in costs and liabilities resulting from almost a decade of recalls and lawsuits. Its defective airbag inflators have been linked to at least 17 deaths around the world. Takata Americas, its U.S. arm, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware on Sunday with liabilities of $10 billion to $50 billion, while the Japanese parent and subsidiaries filed for protection with the Tokyo District Court early on Monday.

Takata's total liabilities stand at 1.7 trillion yen ($15 billion), Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd estimated.

Final liabilities would depend on the outcome of discussions with carmaker customers who have borne the bulk of the replacement costs, a lawyer for the company said.

The filings open the door to the financial rescue by Key Safety Systems (KSS), a Michigan-based parts supplier owned by China's Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp (600699.SS).

In a deal that took 16 months to hammer out, KSS agreed to take over Takata's viable operations, while the remaining operations will be reorganized to continue churning out millions of replacement airbag inflators, the two firms said.

Takata will also receive a $227 million lifeline from its main lender, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, in the form a debtor-in-possession financing.

KSS would keep "substantially all" of Takata's 60,000 employees in 23 countries and maintain its factories in Japan. The deal is meant to allow Takata to continue operating without interruptions and with minimal disruptions to its supply chain.

"We believe taking these actions in Japan and the U.S. is the best way to address the ongoing costs and liabilities of the airbag inflator issues with certainty and in an organized manner," Takata CEO Shigehisa Takada said in a statement.