Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海), the world’s largest contract electronics maker, has proposed to spend ￥300 billion (US$2.5 billion) to acquire financially struggling electronics firm Sharp Corp, according to Japan’s Kyodo news agency.
The report posted on Friday said that the proposed acquisition price is about 50 percent higher than the Japanese company’s current market value, indicating that Hon Hai wants to use the good offer to gain the upper hand and win consensus from the Japanese firm during acquisition negotiations.
According to the report, while Hon Hai — known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康) outside Taiwan — has proposed acquiring Sharp at a high premium, it also wants Sharp’s current management team, including president and chief executive officer Kozo Takahashi, to step down.
Hon Hai would send a team to Sharp to manage the firm, the report said.
Hon Hai also plans to take over the debt shouldered by Sharp to help the firm address its financial problems, the report said.
However, the report also said that Hon Hai has yet to talk with Sharp’s bank creditors.
The report said that Sharp was shouldering about ￥760 billion in debt as of the end of September.
Hon Hai is not the only potential suitor seeking to buy Sharp, the report said, adding that the Innovation Network Corp of Japan (INCJ), which is sponsored by the Japanese government, is studying a buyout of Sharp.
The report said that the INCJ still needs some time to map out a concrete acquisition deal, and the proposal is unlikely to come out until next year, so Hon Hai is taking advantage of the vacuum created to make a deal.
According to the report, the INCJ is discussing whether it would spin off Sharp’s LCD production operations and then integrate the operations with the INCJ’s small and medium-sized flat-panel unit, Japan Display Inc (JDI).
The INCJ owns a 35 percent stake in JDI.
Although Hon Hai proposed spending ￥300 billion to acquire Sharp, the Kyodo report said that the Taiwanese firm’s previous proposal to raise its stake in Sharp’s flatscreen plant, Sakai Display Products Corp in Osaka’s Sakai City, is still valid.
In July 2012, Hon Hai chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘), in a personal capacity, acquired a 37.6 percent stake in the advanced display panel plant from Sharp, which now holds a 37.6 percent share.
Polytronics Technology Corp (聚鼎科技) yesterday announced that it is buying Henkel AG’s thermal clad dielectric material (TCLAD) business division for US$26 million as the Taiwanese firm aims to improve its technology, product portfolio and revenue performance. Polytronics, headquartered in the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區), is a supplier of protection components and heat dissipation materials. The firm entered the metallic heat-dissipation substrate market in 2007 and developed a unique solventless production process. Its board of directors approved signing an agreement with Henkel to acquire the German chemical firm’s TCLAD division in the US. The purchase includes all assets and business interests, including equipment,
ELECTRIC FARMLAND: TSMC’s proposal to clear 230 hectares of reforested land for what would become Taiwan’s largest photovoltaic solar farm has generated concerns New rules curbing solar farms built on agricultural land sparked fierce debate at a packed public hearing at the Legislative Yuan yesterday, with industry representatives saying that the new restrictions would endanger President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) green energy goals, while agricultural officials emphasized the importance of protecting farmers and the environment. The Tsai administration has set a target to generate 20 percent of the nation’s power from renewable sources by 2025, by which time it also aims to install 20 gigawatts (GW) of solar power, including 6GW from rooftop solar systems and 14GW from ground-mounted solar farms. Although rooftop solar systems are
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday posted monthly revenue that suggested second-quarter sales surpassed analysts’ estimates, underscoring how its technological lead is helping the chipmaker weather the COVID-19 pandemic and US sanctions on its second-biggest customer Huawei Technologies Co (華為). Apple Inc’s main iPhone chipmaker posted sales of NT$120.88 billion (US$4.08 billion) for last month, up 40.8 percent year-on-year and bringing its revenue for the second quarter to NT$310.7 billion, beating the NT$308.8 billion analysts expected on average. TSMC, a barometer for the industry thanks to its heft in the global supply chain, had previously lowered its revenue outlook for this
‘SENSITIVE MARKETS’: The previously unannounced project would involve the company handing over control of data to a third party to sidestep privacy concerns Google has abandoned plans to offer a major new cloud service in China and other politically sensitive countries due in part to concerns over geopolitical tensions and the COVID-19 pandemic, two employees familiar with the matter said, revealing the challenges for US tech giants to secure business in those markets. In May, the search giant shut down the initiative, known as “Isolated Region” and which sought to address nations’ desires to control data within their borders, the employees said. The action was considered a “massive strategy shift,” said one of the employees, who added that Isolated Region had involved hundreds of employees
RSS