Sharp Accepts $6.24 Billion Takeover Offer From Foxconn

Apple partner Foxconn is set to acquire Sharp for roughly 700 billion yen (or $6.2 billion USD), reports Nikkei Asian Review. The outlet says that Sharp’s board voted on Thursday morning to accept the offer, and plans to restructure its operations under the Hon Hai umbrella.

The deal, which has not been officially announced yet, comes after years of failed negotiations between the two companies. Foxconn has made several attempts to acquire the struggling electronics giant, or large pieces of it, with the latest offer of $5.3 billion coming in January.

In Japan, the Sharp case sparked debate about whether the country should follow Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s call to open up to more overseas investment. Japan has been reluctant to let a major domestic company go into foreign hands, and many people had argued that the 103-year-old Sharp should go to a Japanese buyer. Japan’s minister of economy, trade and industry told reporters Thursday he hoped Sharp would develop under Foxconn and believed that jobs and the regional economy would be protected.

It’s unknown at this time what Foxconn’s plans are for the company, or what, if any, effects it will have on Apple’s supply chain. The Cupertino firm is rumored to be ditching LTPS panels (the kind Sharp makes) in the next few years, in favor of the more power-efficient OLED panels.

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