Key Safety Systems Inc. has been recommended by a panel to be the sponsor for Takata Corporation's restructuring.
Key Safety, the world's No. 4 air bag manufacturer with a 4 percent market share in 2015, is bidding against No. 1 Autoliv Inc. of Sweden.
A deal with Takata would catapult Key Safety as the No. 2 largest air-bag maker in the world, overtaking Germany's ZF Friedrichshafen AG, but also giving it more access to Japanese automakers.
Michigan-based Key Safety Systems Inc. was acquired a year ago by Chinese components supplier Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp for $920 million. Key Safety operates independently under Joyson and directly leads the negotiations with Takata.
Tokyo-based Takata, the air-bag maker behind the biggest safety recall in automotive history, noted that no decision has been made on a buyer. It emphasized that providing a stable supply of replacement air bags is its top priority.
Honda Motor Co., the biggest user of Takata's products, wants a stable supply of air bags.
Takata's exploding air bags are linked to at least 17 deaths worldwide in around 15 years. The company has admitted to hiding the risks of the product defects, but has agreed to compensate U.S. regulators, consumers and car manufacturers $1 billion in penalties.
Furthermore, the obligation to replace over 100 million air bags has forced Takata to seek an acquirer to get through the costly restructuring process.
The costs of a bailout for Takata kept increasing due to millions more of its defective air bags that were recalled.
Joyson supplies auto parts such as control and air-intake and windscreen-washer systems to clients like Volkswagen AG, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co.
Joyson has acquired numerous assets such as Germany's TechniSat Digital GmbH to develop car connectivity, infotainment and navigation systems, and American firm Evana Automation.