Foxconn said to offer about 600 billion yen for Japan's Sharp

[TOKYO] Foxconn Technology Group has offered about 600 billion yen (S$7.3 billion) to buy Japan's Sharp Corp, according to a person familiar with the talks.

A decision to accept or reject the bid is expected before the end of January, the person said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are private. Chu Wen-min, a spokesman for Foxconn's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, declined to comment Thursday.

"We're talking with several companies about the structural improvement of liquid-crystal-display business. We don't comment on the details of individual talks," said Yoshifumi Seki, a spokesman for Sharp.

Sharp is considering a US$5.3 billion offer from Foxconn and a competing bid from Innovation Network Corp of Japan, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.

BLOOMBERG