KKR interested in becoming financial sponsor to Takata

TOKYO: US investment fund Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) has proposed taking about a 60% stake in Takata Corp, Japan's Nikkei reported on Thursday, possibly offering a lifeline to the embattled Japanese air bag maker.

KKR has submitted a restructuring plan, the newspaper said a day after Takata's external steering company said it had hired investment bank Lazard Ltd to lead restructuring efforts as the auto parts supplier potentially faces billions of dollars in costs stemming from a global recall of its inflators.

Takata and KKR spokeswomen declined to comment on the report, which drove up shares in the company by its daily limit to trade 21% higher.

The Nikkei said the selection of a financial sponsor would require approval from Takata's automaker clients and stakeholders.

The company's founding family owns nearly 60% of the firm, which was started by Takezo Takada in 1933 as a maker of parachutes and other textiles, and is now run by his grandson.

Reuters in April reported that Takata planned to draw up a shortlist of financial backers by August, and that it hoped to reach an agreement on its restructuring by mid-September.

Earlier this month, the US Transportation Department and Takata confirmed that 17 automakers would recall another 35 million to 40 million air bag inflators by 2019 - on top of 28.8 million recalled previously. Globally, more than 50 million inflators have been recalled so far. - Reuters