Earlier this year we reported that Foxconn was interested in taking over Sharp’s business and reportedly offered the company $5.3 billion. Turns out the rumors were partly true because it has been according to The Wall Street Journal, “people familiar with the matter” have told them that Sharp’s board had approved the proposal.
We say partly true because it turns out that the amount is much more than we had though. According to the report, Foxconn is said to be offering 700 billion Yen (about $6.24 billion) to acquire the company. Prior to this, one of the reasons Sharp was holding out against Foxconn was they apparently preferred if a Japanese company were to take over versus a foreign one like Foxconn, but we guess that did not happen in the end.
Foxconn also reportedly beat out Japanese company INCJ, but apparently the next issue is how will Foxconn be able to turn Sharp around. It is said that the company has plans to keep the company intact and avoid any major layoffs if possible. This is actually not the first time that Foxconn has shown interest in the Japanese company.
Way back in 2012, Foxconn was said to be interested in purchasing more shares in Sharp, and it looks like fast forward 4 years, Foxconn may very well be running the company instead.