Takata Corp. has lost the confidence of one of its biggest former shareholders, which said the company cut off access to management and downplayed risks as its air bags spurred a record auto-safety recall.
Sawakami Asset Management, whose $2.6 billion stock fund beat the benchmark Topix index 12 of the past 15 years, sold the last of its Takata shares in early October, before a U.S. regulator's unprecedented crackdown on the company. At its peak, Sawakami's holding reached 1.2 million shares, more than Honda Motor Co. owns today.
"We could not help feeling the management is not trustworthy," fund manager Takahiro Kusakari said in an interview from his office in Tokyo. "We felt Takata had a 'we are needed and our products are needed, so the business will come back and the situation won't be that bad' kind of attitude, downplaying the issue."