Search

Delphi Corp.'s CEO Robert 'Steve' Miller, who has earned a reputation for turning around troubled businesses, hopes to use bankruptcy to shed unprofitable divisions and lay off workers.

A $1.25 billion offer by Johnson Controls for auto-parts supplier Visteon Corp.'s interiors and electronics subsidiary has been turned down by the company's board. Visteon will instead continue with a bondholder proposal that would finance its exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy to be a standalone company.

Companies that have been in financial difficulties and have received government bailouts, are having ex-chief executive officers appointed as chairmen with a mandate to steer the companies out of danger. Edward Whitacre Jr., Harvey Golub , C. Robert Kidder and Philip L askawy are profiled.

Lenders for Delphi Corp. have won in a bankruptcy auction and are on the verge of taking control. This trumps a plan by the government to have Delphi taken over by General Motors Corp. and investment company Platinum Equity LLC.

$6.2 billion of pension liability of Delphi Corp. will be assumed by The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. The bailout is second in size only to that of United Airlines.

Bankruptcy court Judge Robert Drain has ordered an auction to be held for Delphi Corp., after lenders filed suit against the government-backed deal to sell the auto parts maker to Platinum Equity L.L.C., claiming their rights were being ignored.

In another sign of the decline of the automobile industry, Johnson Controls Inc. has announced the planned closure of 10 factories, with the attendant layoffs, and the largest airbag- and seatbelt-maker in the world, Autoliv Inc. says it has cut 3,000 more positions since the beginning of the year.

A bankruptcy judge has ruled in Delphi Corp.'s favor in allowing the company to terminate the health benefits of about 15,000 retirees. Some 1,600 retirees filed objections, saying that the company had promised lifelong coverage to many. Delphi has been under Chapter 11 protection since the latter part of 2005.

Judge Robert Drain has criticized Appaloosa Management for its conduct in the bankruptcy case of Delphi Corp. and dismissed the company's argument used to avoid a $2.55 billion investment and have Delphi's case dismissed.

An investment pool headed by Appaloosa Management LP has pulled out of a planned $2.55 billion equity investment deal for Delphi Corp., which Delphi was counting in order to get out of bankruptcy protection. Appaloosa accused Delphi of violating many terms of the agreement.

Delphi Corp.'s bankruptcy reorganization plans are in a mess as investors accuse Delphi of getting into the weak credit market to their cost, while the company accuses investors of illegal insider trading.

Plastech Engineered Products Inc., a major supplier to the automobile industry, is feeling the effects of the industry's downturn, and is looking at the possibility of restructuring or possible bankruptcy reorganization.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has launched several lawsuits against former executives of Delphi Corp. for securities fraud. This will have an effect on how Delphi restructures itself.

Investor David Tepper, who owns about 9% of Delphi Corp., says the company exaggerated its financial obligations and was too quick to file for Chapter 11.