Sharp bets on another bailout; banks want bold overhaul at firm

Tokyo

LOSS-MAKING Japanese electronics firm Sharp Corp met its main banks on Thursday in an effort to secure its second major bailout since 2012, betting they will have little choice but to pay up despite their call for more drastic overhauls. Sharp chief executive Kozo Takahashi was meeting officials from Mizuho Bank and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (MUFJ), hoping to discuss further funding and buy time, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Sharp may consider an exit from solar panels and plant closures, but these would not be enough for the banks, which want Sharp to follow the more successful Panasonic Corp and Sony Corp with bolder moves, the sources said. "There is no next time," said a senior executive at one of the banks. "I am giving instructions to our people that Sharp needs to make an unprecedented, bold plan."