Apple supplier Hon Hai renegotiating its deal for part of Sharp
The two companies are reworking their deal in light of Sharp's share-price decline, and won't issue an update until the end of August, Reuters reports.
Apple supplier Hon Hai's deal to buy part of Sharp Electronics is up in the air for now as the two companies try to hammer out a new agreement.
The two told Reuters that a joint statement about the status of a renegotiated deal would likely be delayed until later in August after Japan's holiday season.
Revealed in March, the deal would have seen Hon Hai buy around 11 percent of the struggling Sharp and 46.5 percent of the company's LCD TV factory in Sakai, Japan. That would have left 46.5 percent of the plant still owned by Sharp and 7 percent by Sony. In response, Sharp would have issued around $800 million in stock to Hon Hai.
But Sharp's stock has dropped since the initial terms were laid out, prompting Hon Hai to want to renegotiate. The two are trying to work out "a better version" of the March deal, Hon Hai spokesman Simon Hsing told Reuters today, without revealing any further details.
The two companies seem to disagree over the status of the March agreement.
Hon Hai said a week ago that Sharp released it from the terms of the March agreement, Reuters noted. In light of Sharp's stock decline, Hon Hai wants to pay less money per share or grab a larger chunk of Sharp. But a Sharp spokeswoman said her company still considers the March terms to be valid though she admitted that talks are ongoing.
Sharp needs the influx of cash. The electronics maker saw its sales and operating income plummet last year. Hon Hai wants Sharp for its display panel manufacturing, which it considers superior to that of Samsung.
CNET contacted Sharp for comment and will update the story if we receive more information.