British Unit Of Visteon Files For Bankruptcy

VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Car parts supplier Visteon Corp., which used to be part of Ford Motor Co., said Tuesday one of its British subsidiaries is filing for bankruptcy with the U.K. High Court.

Visteon UK Ltd., which owns plants in Basildon, Belfast and Enfield and employs about 600, is seeking protection from its creditors.

No other unit of Visteon Corp., which employs about 33,500 globally, is filing for bankruptcy, the company said.

The administration order places Visteon UK Ltd. under the control of court-appointed administrators from KPMG, which will "be communicating directly with Visteon UK Ltd. employees and other stakeholders regarding today's action," said the company, which makes car interiors, temperature control systems and powertrain components.

Visteon's move follows a fourth-quarter loss of $328 million, or $2.53 per share — nearly eight times the loss in the year-earlier period.

On March 6, trading in the shares was suspended. The stock closed at 7 cents on March 3, giving the company a market capitalization of $9.1 million.