iPhone-Maker Foxconn to Acquire Sharp for $5.6B
A Taiwanese upstart could own one of Japan's most storied brands.
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Reviewed.com / Lee Neikirk
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Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn has announced that it is set to complete an acquisition of Sharp Corp. for an estimated $5.6 billion. Reuters reports that Foxconn CEO Terry Gou announced the news to reporters after a meeting with Sharp executives.
The deal will give Foxconn, which rose to prominence as the contract manufacturer of Apple's iPhone, control of Sharp's advanced display business, as well as one of Japan's biggest and most storied electronics brands.
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Reuters notes that Sharp's market value is currently $2.6 billion, less than half of what Foxconn is offering. Notably, this valuation comes after the company's stock rose 28 percent over the last two days thanks to news of Foxconn's interest.
{{amazon name="Sharp LC-32LE653U 32-Inch 1080p Smart LED TV (2015 Model)", asin="B00TTVMG1M", align="right"}} This is only the latest development in Sharp's long, slow decline as an independent company. The once-storied electronics brand sold its U.S. TV business to China's Hisense last year after divesting its European TV business to Slovakia's Universal Media Corporation a few years before.
If this acquisition goes through, it would essentially represent the end of Sharp as an independent brand. The deal is expected to close at the end of February.
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