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General Motors Co.’s president said yesterday that April 20 is a hard deadline to reach an agreement on a long-term financial restructuring of GM’s South Korean auto unit, after which the operation would likely seek bankruptcy protection, Reuters reported. “Our preferred path remains to find a successful outcome here,” GM President Dan Ammann said. “It’s the right thing for all the stakeholders. But everybody has got to come to the table by next Friday.” Ammann, who oversees GM’s operations worldwide, reaffirmed what other GM officials told South Korean union leaders in late March. The April 20 deadline ratchets up pressure on the South Korean government and the state-funded Korea Development Bank, which said on Wednesday that they needed until early May to complete due diligence on GM Korea and the automaker’s financial plan before committing public funds.

Auto components maker Key Safety Systems yesterday completed its $1.6 billion deal to acquire air-bag maker Takata Corp, whose inflators triggered the auto industry’s biggest recall and have been linked to at least 22 deaths around the world, Reuters reported. After more than a decade of recalls, lawsuits and a criminal investigation which drove Takata to bankruptcy, the deal ensures the Japanese company will be able to continue producing replacement inflators before winding itself down, which may take years. The combined companies would be renamed Joyson Safety Systems, after a consortium led by KSS’s Chinese parent company, Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corporation, provided funding to acquire most of Takata’s operations, Joyson Safety Systems said in a statement. The new company will be based in Michigan.

Senior scholars in Islamic finance are exploring ways to prevent legal disputes that have roiled the industry, with new rules aiming to clarify responsibilities, while others raise the prospect of penalties for their peers, Reuters reported. The discussions are part of the annual sharia conference of the Bahrain-based Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), one of the industry’s top standard-setting bodies. Sharia scholars are considered the gatekeepers of Islamic finance, vetting products and services to ensure they comply with religious principles such as bans on interest and gambling. However, their profession is under scrutiny after a series of disputes surrounding Islamic bonds, or sukuk. These disputes could dent the growth prospects of the sukuk market, as potential issuers could shy away from their perceived legal complexity in favor of conventional debt.

Commodity trader Noble Group Ltd said yesterday that it is getting growing support for a $3.4 billion restructuring plan after more than 70 percent of creditors holding the majority of its senior debt accepted the initiative, Reuters reported. The proposed restructuring agreement requires approval by a majority of existing senior creditors representing 75 percent in value of its debt. Noble added that advisers to the ad hoc group and the company are in talks with about 10 percent of additional creditors who support the proposed financial restructuring, subject to accepting the restructuring and completing internal approval processes. “The company remains confident that the number of creditors acceding into the RSA (restructuring support agreement) will continue to rise,” said the Hong Kong-headquartered firm. Noble warned last month that it would begin insolvency proceedings if the debt restructuring was not approved.

The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) has proposed a new standard covering the regulation of sharia-compliant capital market products, posing a challenge for regulators, issuers and intermediaries working on Islamic bonds, or sukuk, Reuters reported. The exposure draft from the IFSB, one of the main standard-setting bodies in Islamic finance, represents the most detailed effort to rein in claims of sharia non-compliance and clarify resolution of disputes in sukuk deals. Such issues have gained prominence over the past year after a company in the United Arab Emirates stopped payments on a $700 million sukuk, arguing the transaction no longer complied with Islamic principles. That triggered a legal dispute in both the English and UAE courts. The Malaysia-based IFSB has previously issued guidelines for disclosure of Islamic capital market products, but the new standard extends responsibilities to national regulators. Sukuk should be subject to specific disclosure requirements to clarify all aspects of sharia compliance, including remedial processes, governing laws that guides disputes and courts where cases will be heard. This is important for investors wishing to gauge the legal treatment of such contracts, specifically on how courts will handle sharia-related arguments, the IFSB said.

Retail billionaire Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct International Plc is among bidders for certain Toys “R” Us Inc. stores in the U.K., Bloomberg News reported. The group has submitted an offer for some properties backing a 2013 securitization known as Debussy DTC. Private equity firm TPG is also competing for some assets backing the Debussy debt, while Hayfin Capital Management LLP plans to submit a bid or provide financing to potential buyers. The 263 million-pound ($370 million) Debussy bonds, which are backed by a loan financing 31 properties in the U.K., came under stress late last year as the toy seller tried to restructure its British operations after filing for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. The securitized loan is now in the hands of administrators, and noteholders have appointed real estate firm Morgan Williams to sell the properties to recover money for the bonds.

Noble Group Ltd said today that creditors holding the majority of its senior debt now accept its $3.4 billion restructuring plan, Reuters reported. The beleaguered commodity trader said support for the deal, seen as critical for the firm’s survival, has risen to 55 percent from 46 percent on March 14. The proposed restructuring agreement requires approval by a majority of existing senior creditors representing 75 percent in value of its debt. The firm said in a statement it is making “solid progress” towards the deal and would extend the deadline for subscriptions to April 11. Noble warned on Monday that it would begin insolvency proceedings if the debt restructuring, which has been opposed by some bondholders and shareholders, was not approved.

General Motors Co. said it intends to file its South Korean unit for bankruptcy if its labor union fails to agree on a restructuring plan that needs to be outlined within the next four weeks, putting pressure on employees and the government to help it stay afloat in the country, Bloomberg News reported. Barry Engle, GM’s international chief, told union leaders yesterday that the company needs employees’ support by the end of this month, a spokesman for GM in Seoul said. April 20 is the deadline for GM to submit its turnaround proposal to the government, and the company is seeking a tentative agreement with unions well before that, the spokesman said. GM is seeking concessions from the union to revive its South Korean business that’s been hurt by mounting losses. In February, GM offered a $2.8 billion new investment plan to turn around the unit over the next 10 years following a threat to exit the country entirely.