Auto-parts maker Takata Corp. moved a step closer Tuesday to a $1.58 billion sale to Key Safety Systems, a deal it needs to complete to make good on a Justice Department settlement over its defective air bags, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Judge Brendan Shannon approved a restructuring-support agreement that locks in backing for the deal from major car makers, which are Takata’s biggest customers and, in many cases, co-defendants with the Japanese company in lawsuits over air-bag damages. The sale to Key is the core of the chapter 11 bankruptcy plan designed to resolve damage claims stemming from exploding air bags, which have been linked to a number of deaths and injuries worldwide, and forced the largest recall effort in U.S. automotive history. Claims for personal or economic injury due to the air bags drove Takata to bankruptcy. The sale to Key preserves part of the business, the lines that weren’t involved in the air-bag troubles. Creditors must vote upon the chapter 11 plan itself, which must in turn also be approved by Judge Shannon. Bankruptcy plan hearings are scheduled to start early next year in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., where Takata sought bankruptcy protection.
