Foxconn lowers Sharp offer: Report
Taiwanese contract maker Foxconn will lower its offer for debt-ridden Japanese tech giant Sharp by 100 billion yen, Japanese media is reporting.
According to Yomiuri Shimbun, the Taiwanese company, also known as Hon Hai Precision, has sent its Japanese counterpart a notice that it is reducing its initial offer of 500 billion yen by 10 to 20 percent due to concerns over potential liabilities and future earnings.
Last month, just before it seemed years of negotiations neared a close, Foxconn put the deal on hold after discovering previously undiscovered liabilities.
Just days prior it was reported that Sharp agreed to the contract maker's offer worth $6.2 billion, or 700 billion yen.
It would have been the biggest acquisition of a Japanese company by a foreign firm.
Sharp declined to comment to Yomiuri Shimbun on the reduced offer. The precise lowered amount has not been disclosed, the report said.
Foxconn has been competing with local state-fund Network Corp of Japan for the bid and was given preferential rights for negotiation by the Japanese tech giant.
Sharp last month posted a fifth-straight quarter of loss. It lost out to rivals in China and South Korea in the lucrative Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) market.
Hon Hai, best known for contract making Apple's iPhones, is likely attempting to diversify its portfolio from the acquisition due to the saturation of the smartphone market.