Wang Jianfeng has been on an epic acquisition tear over the past decade, assembling a formidable auto parts empire in China with $4 billion in revenue.

Now, the 46-year-old Wang, founder and chairman of Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp., is about to pull off his biggest deal yet: a $1.59 billion takeover of Takata Corp., the troubled air bag maker that filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday and is in the midst of the largest auto recall in history.

Ningbo Joyson is acquiring Takata's assets through its wholly owned U.S. air bag maker Key Safety Systems Inc., which it acquired last year for $920 million.