Potential rescuers of Japan's Takata Corp have extended talks, already in their 14th month, for a deal to take over the air bag maker at the heart of the auto industry's biggest safety recall, Reuters reported on Friday. Car-parts maker Key Safety Systems Inc. and Bain Capital LLC are the preferred bidders for Takata, whose faulty air bags have been blamed for at least 16 deaths worldwide. Discussions that include the steering committee tapped by the air bag maker to oversee the search for a financial sponsor, automaker clients, suitors and bankers are now likely to run on until at least end-May. The parties have already moved beyond an informal, self-imposed end-March deadline to work out a deal. Recent talks, described by two participants as “chaotic,” have focused on issues such as an indemnity agreement to cover reimbursement costs for air bag recalls, estimated to be as high as $10 billion.
