Japanese
auto parts maker Takata Corp (7312.T)
expressed condolences on Tuesday to victims of its faulty air bags linked to at
least 16 deaths and 180 injuries around the
world, but stopped short of
offering a full apology.
"We
offer our condolences to the those who lost their lives and to those who
suffered injuries," Shigehisa Takada, chairman and CEO of Takata, said at
the company's last annual shareholder meeting as a listed company.
The meeting
came a day after Takata, facing tens of billions of dollars in costs and
liabilities following almost a decade of recalls and lawsuits, said it had
filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan and the United States.
As part of
the arrangements it will be largely acquired for $1.6 billion by the
Chinese-owned U.S.-based Key Safety Systems.
The grandson
of the company's founder, Takada was criticized in the Japanese media for
failing to address victims at a press conference announcing the bankruptcy on
Monday. It was his first media appearance in more than a year and a half.
At Tuesday's
meeting, he joined other executives in making a deep bow of contrition for the
lives lost and shattered by the company's defective air-bag inflators. Most
victims were in the United States.
"I was
told that I shouldn't cause any bias and that I should leave it to
others," Takada said, responding to the criticism. "I too felt shame
about this."
Takada
"was full of excuses," said one female investor in her 40s from
Tokyo.
"Constantly
blaming the media and those around him, it's not surprising things ended up
like this," she said.
The ammonium
nitrate compound used in the air bags was found to become volatile with age and
prolonged exposure to heat, causing the devices to explode with too much force
and spray shrapnel into vehicle compartments.
Takata
shares were untraded with a glut of sell orders on Tuesday. The company is due
to be delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange on July 27.
Reuters*
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