Sharp wouldn't sell copier, printer business to Samsung -- report
Samsung had hoped to obtain those operations in its recently announced $111 million deal.
Samsung and Sharp might have come to an ownership agreement, but the deal doesn't include the Galaxy handset maker gobbling up a key piece of Sharp's business, according to a new report.
In the deal that results in Samsung acquiring a 3 percent stake in Sharp for $111 million, Samsung tried to acquire the printer and copier division. According to a Sharp spokeswoman who spoke to Reuters in an interview published today, her company declined Samsung's offer.
For Sharp, accepting such a deal would have been a catch-22. The company needs to repay a $2.1 billion convertible bond by September, and it likely could have gotten a significant piece of that by selling its printer and copier operation. However, that operation is one of the few bright spots in its business.
Sharp has been hemorrhaging cash, and its market share across a wide array of industries is on the decline. Last week, Samsung announced that it was dropping about $111.3 million into Sharp to take a 3 percent equity stake in the company. Sharp would use the funds to build its capital position, and Samsung would get a tighter grip on Sharp's liquid crystal display business.