Auto Parts

Beverly Hills investment firm Platinum Equity won't find out until next week whether it is the only bidder for bankrupt auto parts maker Delphi Corp. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain, who is overseeing Delphi's Chapter 11 bankruptcy, was scheduled to conduct an auction Friday to sell the company's assets, but postponed it until Tuesday. Platinum currently has the only bid on the table for Delphi, one of the world's biggest auto parts makers and a key supplier to General Motors Co.

Bankrupt auto parts maker Delphi Corp. defended its proposed sale to Beverly Hills-based private equity firm Platinum Equity on Thursday, saying claims that the transaction was a sweetheart deal were unfounded. In a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, Delphi Chief Financial Officer John Sheehan fired back at criticism from Delphi's creditors, who say the $3.6-billion deal between the two companies had been covertly brokered. The deal has the backing of the U.S.

The Obama administration has turned down a request by auto suppliers for up to $10 billion in additional federal aid to help the parts companies deal with the bankruptcies of General Motors Corp. and Chrysler. The Treasury Department said in a statement Tuesday that an existing $5-billion support program for auto parts suppliers was playing an important role in stabilizing the nation's auto supply base.

Auto parts suppliers are planning to ask the Obama administration for an additional $8 billion to $10 billion in federal aid. The Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Assn. is preparing to present its proposal for several aid programs Wednesday during a meeting with the president's auto task force. On Thursday, the association hopes to meet with members of Congress.

Delphi Corp., the troubled auto-parts maker, won permission to cancel healthcare benefits for 15,000 current and former salaried workers, saving $1.1 billion as it tries to emerge from court protection amid falling vehicle sales. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain in New York issued the ruling after witnesses for Troy, Mich.-based Delphi testified that the cuts were vital to its survival because its lenders demanded them. About 1,600 objections were filed by workers. Ending the benefits will save $70 million a year and eliminate $1.1 billion of debt, Delphi said.

Dana Holding Corp. said it would close up to 10 plants and cut 2,000 more employees than originally planned as the auto parts maker's net loss widened in the third quarter. The Toledo, Ohio, firm said the plant closures would take place in 2009 and 2010; the 5,000 job cuts would be complete by the end of this year. Previously, Dana said it intended to cut only 3,000 jobs this year.

Federal-Mogul Corp., the auto parts maker controlled by billionaire Carl Icahn, will eliminate 4,000 jobs globally because of slowing vehicle sales. The cuts represent 8% of the workforce and will result in expenses of $60 million to $80 million, the Southfield, Mich., company said. The reductions are the first that Federal-Mogul has announced since it emerged from bankruptcy protection in December. During six years of reorganization, the company began shutting plants in nine locations in the U.S. and Europe.

The World Trade Organization made public its first official condemnation of Chinese commercial practices Friday, releasing a February ruling that sided with the United States, the European Union and Canada in a dispute over car parts. The verdict found that China was breaking trade rules by taxing imports of auto parts at the same rate as foreign-made finished cars. The three-member WTO panel ruled against China on nearly every point of contention with the U.S., the 27-nation EU and Canada.

Dana Holding Corp. emerged from almost two years of Bankruptcy Court protection, and the auto parts maker named former General Motors Corp. finance chief John Devine chairman and acting chief executive. Private equity firm Centerbridge Capital Partners will control Toledo, Ohio-based Dana, and past managers of Chrysler Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. will join Devine on its board, the company said. Mike Burns, CEO since 2004, is leaving the company.