By REUTERS
Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co is set to offer to invest about 700 billion yen (RM26 billion) in Sharp Corp, the Yomiuri daily reported, upping its proposal and sending shares in the troubled Japanese display maker soaring.
Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn, could make the offer, its final proposal, as early as Friday, the Japanese newspaper said on Friday. It had previously proposed a maximum 500 billion yen investment, the Yomiuri said.
The report sent shares in Sharp soaring as much as 17% in early trade. Hon Hai and Sharp were not immediately available for comment.
Sharp is still trying to turn around its business despite a US$1.7 billion (RM7.5 billion) rescue last May, its second major bailout in three years.
Hon Hai and Sharp have been weighing a possible tie-up for months, sources familiar with the situation have said. But Japanese state-backed fund Innovation Network Corp of Japan has been seen as a more likely investor.
Tie-up talks between Hon Hai and Sharp fell through in 2012 after the Japanese company baulked at demands that it said would have given the Taiwanese firm too much control. The two firms remained in contact and jointly operate a plant in Osaka, western Japan, that makes large LCD panels.
— By Chang-Ran Kim
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