Taiwan's Hon Hai ready to seal deal with Sharp: reports

[TAIPEI] Taiwan's tech giant Hon Hai applied Tuesday for a halt in share trading, suggesting it is ready to finalise its multi-billion-dollar takeover of Japan's electronics maker Sharp.

The Taiwan Stock Exchange said trading in shares of Hon Hai Precision and its affiliate Foxconn Technology would be suspended due to a "major announcement".

A Hon Hai spokeswoman was not available for comment but local media said the two companies would hold board meetings Wednesday to discuss the huge deal.

Hon Hai was fined early this month after the Taiwan Stock Exchange said it violated trading rules by failing fully to explain the deal it has been negotiating with Sharp.

Local media said Hon Hai was likely to sign an agreement with the Japanese firm Thursday to seal the takeover.

It would be the first foreign acquisition of a major Japanese electronics firm.

Sharp has teetered on the edge of bankruptcy for years and Foxconn's colourful billionaire owner Terry Gou has long been pushing for a takeover.

The two firms have worked together for years on large-screen technology, including for televisions, and jointly operate a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel plant in Japan.

Still, the Japanese government had reportedly been concerned about Sharp's key technologies falling into the hands of a foreign firm.

Sharp is still a leader in LCD technology and remains one of Japan's best-known corporate brands overseas.

But the century-old company piled up eye-watering losses after the 2008 global financial crisis and a restructuring plan has yet to pull it out of the red.

AFP