Report: Bids for Takata Top $1 Billion

Would-be investors in airbag supplier Takata Corp. have offered between $1 billion and $2 billion to buy the struggling company, a source tells Bloomberg News.

Takata has solicited five bids and hopes to select a final savior by year-end. Bloomberg’s source says the company appears to favor three finalists: Daicel-Bain Capital, Flex-N-Gate and KKR.

All five contenders have suggested a bankruptcy for Takata. But only Autoliv and Key Safety Systems have said their bids would require that option, thereby narrowing the appeal of their offers, according to the source.

A bankruptcy could help define Takata’s exposure to liabilities related to the 100 million airbag inflators its customers are recalling worldwide. Takata has been meeting with more than a dozen carmakers this week to brief them on the bidding process and to attempt to determine its share of the recall costs.