Dana Gets New Offer for Bankruptcy Exit

Appaloosa Management, the largest shareholder in Dana Corp., has made an offer to finance the auto-parts company's exit from bankruptcy, competing with a bid from Centerbridge Capital Partners. The proposal from Appaloosa, a private equity firm based in Chatham, NJ, will be reviewed this week by Dana's creditors committee, Chuck Hartlage, a spokesman for the maker of automotive frames and axles, said Friday.

From Bloomberg/ International Herald Tribune

TOLEDO, OH — Appaloosa Management, the largest shareholder in Dana Corp., has made an offer to finance the auto-parts company’s exit from bankruptcy, competing with a bid from Centerbridge Capital Partners. The proposal from Appaloosa, a private equity firm based in Chatham, NJ, will be reviewed this week by Dana’s creditors committee, Chuck Hartlage, a spokesman for the maker of automotive frames and axles, said Friday.

Terms of Appaloosa’s offer were not disclosed, but creditors will have to decide whether its offer is worth throwing out an agreement for a $750 million investment led by Centerbridge that has already been submitted to a U.S. bankruptcy court as part of Dana’s reorganization plan.

Appaloosa, which owns 15 percent of Dana’s shares, complained to the parts supplier’s board in July that the Centerbridge offer was too low.

Centerbridge, a private equity firm in New York, has agreed to buy as much as $500 million in Dana preferred stock, with additional financing coming from creditors. That investment would go toward a $764 million contribution Dana would make to trusts for union retiree health-care costs.