Wilmington Trust will serve as the trustee and investment manager for the $975 million Takata Restitution Fund. The fund was created as part of a settlement between the U.S. Justice Department and Takata Corp. following a lawsuit against the company for selling malfunctioning airbags.
The money will go towards individuals injured due to the faulty devices and to auto manufacturers that bought the product.
Here’s how the payments break down:
· $481,848,850 to auto manufacturers defrauded in connection with their purchase of non-compliant ammonium nitrate-based inflators in the Takata air bag 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 air bag inflator
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.”