Wilmington Trust to manage Takata airbag restitution trust

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Wilmington Trust, N.A. has been appointed trustee and investment manager for the Takata Corporation Restitution Fund Trust. 

The $975 million trust, established as part of Takata Corp.’s settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, will be used to compensate individuals injured by the company’s malfunctioning airbags, as well as auto manufacturers that purchased the faulty devices.
 
As part of the plea agreement in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Takata Corp. agreed to pay:

  • $481,848,850 to auto manufacturers  in connection with their purchase of non-compliant ammonium nitrate-based inflators in the Takata airbag systems
  • $368,151,150 to all automakers that purchased airbags with phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate inflators from Takata, or its subsidiaries
  • $125,000,000 in restitution to individuals who have or will suffer personal injury caused by the malfunction of a Takata airbag inflator

The $125 million “Individual Restitution Fund” is funded directly by Takata Corp. and has already been paid to the District Court. The $850 million “OEM Restitution Fund” for compensating affected automakers will be funded within five days after the completion of the proposed sale of most of the assets of Takata Corp. to Key Safety Systems.
 
As trustee, Wilmington Trust will manage and distribute the funds as directed by court-appointed Special Master Eric D. Green.
 
“We appreciate the confidence being shown in Wilmington Trust’s appointment to administer and manage the Takata Restitution Fund Trust,” said Jack Beeson, head of Global Capital Markets at Wilmington Trust. “We take our responsibility for managing these restitution funds very seriously, as we do with every corporate transaction we’re selected to manage.”
 
Earlier this year, Wilmington Trust was also appointed the trustee and investment manager for the $2.7 billion Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice.
 
In addition to the Takata and VW trustee roles, Wilmington Trust also chaired the unsecured creditors’ committee for both the General Motors Corporation and Lehman Brothers bankruptcy cases.
 
For additional information about the Takata Restitution Fund Trust, please visit www.takataspecialmaster.com.

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