TOKYO—A steering committee for Takata Corp. has interviewed several private-equity funds and companies, including U.S. investment fund KKR & Co., about a possible investment in the troubled Japanese air-bag maker, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday.

After Nikkei first reported KKR's interest in Takata, shares of the air-bag maker hit a limit high on hopes that it was nearing a cash infusion to help the company restructure. Takata has been negotiating with auto makers over the ballooning costs it faces for rupture-prone air bags linked to 11 deaths and more than 100 injuries world-wide.

However, the person said it was too early for any investment decisions to be made, adding that the steering committee, Takata's lenders​ and​ auto makers hadn't yet hammered out ​any details for potential investment proposals. The steering committee is made up of business, financial and legal experts in Japan.

The committee Wednesday said it had tapped investment banker Lazard Ltd. to assist in developing a restructuring plan to help Takata deal with what are expected to be billions of dollars in liabilities stemming from the faulty air bags.

Takata's share price Thursday surged 21% to the limit-up level of Y458 ($4.16) an hour before the market close, after trading around Y390 before the Nikkei report.

Representatives for Takata and KKR declined to comment.

--Kane Wu in Hong Kong contributed to this article

Write to Megumi Fujikawa at megumi.fujikawa@wsj.com and Atsuko Fukase at atsuko.fukase@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 26, 2016 06:25 ET (10:25 GMT)