Acquisition comes after weeks of uncertainty over deal at higher price
”TAIPEI, taiwan — The Taiwanese company that assembles Apple’s iPhones agreed Wednesday to buy control of financially struggling Sharp Corp. for $3.5 billion in the first foreign takeover of a major Japanese electronics producer.
The acquisition by Foxconn unites Sharp, a pioneering electronics brand founded in 1912, with a company six decades younger that is little known to consumers but has grown rapidly as a contract manufacturer for global brands. The commitment by Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., to buy 66 percent of Osaka-based Sharp followed weeks of uncertainty over what the Japanese company said was a deal at a higher price.
“I am thrilled by the prospects for this strategic alliance, and I look forward to working with everyone at Sharp,” said Foxconn founder Terry Gou in a statement. “We have much that we want to achieve, and I am confident that we will unlock Sharp’s true potential and together reach great heights.”
The price of 389 billion yen was a reduction of 100 billion yen, or about 20 percent, from the 489 billion yen, or $4.4 billion, that Sharp said Feb. 25 that Foxconn had agreed to pay. The Taiwanese company said at that time it wasn’t ready to sign a deal……..”
Read full article here: http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_29706276/foxconn-agrees-buy-japans-sharp-corp-3-5
Source: The Denver Post Business News