TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. Chairman Terry Gou signed the 388.8 billion yen (NT$111.8 billion, US$3.4 billion) investment deal with Sharp Corporation in Osaka Saturday.
The official signing gives the Taiwanese company 66 percent of Sharp, and crowns a saga lasting years, during which offers for the ailing Japanese brand name came and went until a final agreement was reached last Wednesday. The agreement is expected to cement the role of Hon Hai, which is also known by the name Foxconn, as one of the world’s biggest manufacturer of computers and cell phones, in particular for Apple Inc. Control over Sharp will allow the Taiwanese company to improve its development of high-definition LCD panels for mobile devices, reports said.
Immediately after the signing, Gou, Sharp Chairman Kozo Takahashi, and Hon Hai Vice Chairman Tai Jeng-wu stood for minutes hand in hand posing for the media in front of a screen with the company names and the flags of Taiwan and Japan.
In his English-language speech, Gou praised Sharp’s innovation and creativity in producing television sets and domestic electronic products. He also identified the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as the company’s main target and said he planned to turn the company around and start making profits within four years.
According to the Taiwanese tycoon, there were no Taiwanese or Japanese companies, only global enterprises.
Taiwanese media reports speculated that Tai might take over leadership at Sharp, partly because of his Japanese language ability.
The event was held at the Sakai Display Products Corporation LCD plant in Osaka’s Sakai City, in which Gou took a personal minority stake in 2012, thus as it were beginning what the Taiwanese media have termed the “Hon Hai-Sharp love affair.”
The deal set several precedents, being Hon Hai’s biggest overseas investment in its 42-year history, one of the rare occasions on which a major world-known Japanese brand was taken over by a foreign company, and a rare overseas acquisition for a major Taiwanese firm.
Media reports said Gou had taken three generations of his family, including his mother and small children, to Japan by private jet for Saturday’s ceremony.
According to the agreement, Hon Hai will spend 288.8 billion yen on Sharp’s common shares and 99.99 billion yen on preferred shares issued by Sharp to its major creditor banks. The Taiwanese company put down a 100 billion yen deposit last Thursday.
Hon Hai’s Terry Gou signs deal with Sharp
