Takata shortlists Daicel, KKR, Ningbo, others in rescue search -sources
TOKYO, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Takata Corp has shortlisted six or seven companies, including a competitor and private-equity funds, as potential financial investors to bail out the Japanese car-parts maker, people involved in the process said.
Japanese chemical maker Daicel Corp, China's Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp - the parent of Michigan-based air-bag maker Key Safety Systems - and global funds KKR & Co and Bain Capital LP are among the groups presenting detailed turnaround plans to Takata, eight people familiar with the process, including two directly involved, told Reuters.
The shortlisting is a sign of progress in protracted efforts to restructure Takata whose faulty air bags are linked to the deaths of at least 14 people and have sparked the biggest auto recalls ever. As many as 30 had showed initial interest as of June in rescuing the company.
Takata needs a financial backer to help overhaul its business and carry ballooning costs as its stock price has crumbled almost 90 percent since early 2014 and it faces potentially billions of dollars of liabilities over the sometimes deadly defects in its air-bag inflators.
Takata and its steering committee, advised by investment bank Lazard Ltd, hope to narrow the list to about two final bidders by mid-September and choose a financial "sponsor" in October after consulting with Takata's car maker customers, several sources said.
Representatives of Takata's steering committee, Daicel, KKR and Bain Capital declined to comment on the search for a rescuer. Ningbo Joyson has had no direct contact with Takata, but there may be information exchanges going on through an intermediary, said spokesman Chen Yang.
The sources declined to be named because the process is private.
(Reporting by Taro Fuse and Junko Fujita; Additional reporting by Emi Emoto, Naomi Tajitsu and Maki Shiraki in Tokyo and Jake Spring in Beijing; Editing by William Mallard and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
