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Takata Rules Out Competitors as Investors
Struggling airbag supplier Takata Corp. is telling its carmaker customers it won’t consider equity bids from rivals Autoliv Inc. and ZF Friedrichshafen AG, sources tell The Nikkei.
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Struggling airbag supplier Takata Corp. is telling its carmaker customers it won’t consider equity bids from rivals Autoliv Inc. and ZF Friedrichshafen AG, sources tell The Nikkei.
That would please vehicle manufacturers, according to the Tokyo-based newspaper. It says carmakers would prefer to have a more balanced supply chain with at least three major sources of supply.
Takata makes about 20% of the world’s automotive airbags. But virtually all its customers have vowed to stop buying the company's inflators, which have been linked to 13 deaths and more than 100 injuries. Currently 17 manufacturers are recalling about 100 million of the devices that could explode when activated by a crash, spewing metal shards into the passenger compartment.
The company is holding meetings with its customers this week to brief them on its search for a financial backer. Several would-be investors have indicated interest, including U.S. equity firm KKR & Co., according to media reports.
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