Sharp Corp. (6753), the Japanese television maker that agreed in March to sell a stake to Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group, offered to sell the holding for less, the Nikkei newspaper reported.
The shares Foxconn and its Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. unit had agreed to buy for 550 yen each should instead be sold at the average price for Sharp shares, the Nikkei reported yesterday, without saying where it got the information.
Sharp fell 13 percent to 198 yen in Tokyo trading Aug. 31, as Foxconn Founder Terry Gou didn’t appear at a scheduled press conference in Sakai, Japan, and left the country without announcing a deal.
Sharp is seeking to raise cash and cut costs as 706 billion yen ($9 billion) of its bonds, commercial paper and borrowings mature within one year.
The company has said it will cut 5,000 jobs to help reduce fixed costs by 100 billion yen after the Japanese currency rose to a postwar high and slumping global TV demand led to a record loss last fiscal year.
A call to the TV and display maker’s Osaka headquarters office yesterday outside business hours wasn’t answered.
Sharp President Takashi Okuda met with other Foxconn executives in Osaka Aug. 30 to discuss alliance terms, said Hiroshi Takenami, a spokesman for the Japanese company.
The two companies are still in talks to renegotiate the March investment agreement, Foxconn Vice President Tai Jeng-wu said Aug. 30 in Sakai, Japan, site of a Sharp factory. The talks haven’t reached a final stage, he said.
Sharp expects to complete talks with Hon Hai this month, the Asahi newspaper reported today in an interview with Okuda. Hon Hai, maker of Apple Inc.’s iPad and iPhone, is Sharp’s largest supplier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Initial Agreement
Foxconn, through its two Taipei-listed units, Hon Hai and Foxconn Technology Co. agreed in March to buy 9.9 percent of Japan’s biggest liquid-crystal display maker for 67 billion yen in a sale of new shares.
The Japanese TV maker’s shares have plunged since then to less than half the initially agreed price.
Sharp’s credit rating was cut to speculative grade, or junk, by Standard and Poor’s on Aug. 31 as Foxconn said it was still renegotiating the planned investment.
Standard & Poor’s lowered the rating two levels to BB+, the highest non-investment grade, saying the Osaka-based electronics maker suffers from weak cash flow and deteriorating market conditions.
Sharp, whose shares had the biggest percentage decline on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index this year, was kept on a negative ratings watch.
Sharp is considering cutting bonuses as early as this winter in Japan to save between 20 billion yen and 30 billion yen, Kyodo news service reported yesterday, without saying where it got the information.
bloomberg.com
The shares Foxconn and its Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. unit had agreed to buy for 550 yen each should instead be sold at the average price for Sharp shares, the Nikkei reported yesterday, without saying where it got the information.
Sharp fell 13 percent to 198 yen in Tokyo trading Aug. 31, as Foxconn Founder Terry Gou didn’t appear at a scheduled press conference in Sakai, Japan, and left the country without announcing a deal.
Sharp is seeking to raise cash and cut costs as 706 billion yen ($9 billion) of its bonds, commercial paper and borrowings mature within one year.
The company has said it will cut 5,000 jobs to help reduce fixed costs by 100 billion yen after the Japanese currency rose to a postwar high and slumping global TV demand led to a record loss last fiscal year.
A call to the TV and display maker’s Osaka headquarters office yesterday outside business hours wasn’t answered.
Sharp President Takashi Okuda met with other Foxconn executives in Osaka Aug. 30 to discuss alliance terms, said Hiroshi Takenami, a spokesman for the Japanese company.
The two companies are still in talks to renegotiate the March investment agreement, Foxconn Vice President Tai Jeng-wu said Aug. 30 in Sakai, Japan, site of a Sharp factory. The talks haven’t reached a final stage, he said.
Sharp expects to complete talks with Hon Hai this month, the Asahi newspaper reported today in an interview with Okuda. Hon Hai, maker of Apple Inc.’s iPad and iPhone, is Sharp’s largest supplier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Initial Agreement
Foxconn, through its two Taipei-listed units, Hon Hai and Foxconn Technology Co. agreed in March to buy 9.9 percent of Japan’s biggest liquid-crystal display maker for 67 billion yen in a sale of new shares.
The Japanese TV maker’s shares have plunged since then to less than half the initially agreed price.
Sharp’s credit rating was cut to speculative grade, or junk, by Standard and Poor’s on Aug. 31 as Foxconn said it was still renegotiating the planned investment.
Standard & Poor’s lowered the rating two levels to BB+, the highest non-investment grade, saying the Osaka-based electronics maker suffers from weak cash flow and deteriorating market conditions.
Sharp, whose shares had the biggest percentage decline on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index this year, was kept on a negative ratings watch.
Sharp is considering cutting bonuses as early as this winter in Japan to save between 20 billion yen and 30 billion yen, Kyodo news service reported yesterday, without saying where it got the information.
bloomberg.com
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