Foxconn will buy 66 per cent control of financially struggling Sharp for $3.5 billion in the first takeover of a major Japanese electronics producer by a foreign company. However the agreement by Foxconn followed weeks of uncertainty over what Sharp had said was a deal at a higher price.
The price of $3.5 billion was a reduction of about 20 percent, from $4.4 billion which Sharp said in February that Foxconn had agreed to pay. The Taiwanese company said at the time it wasn't ready to sign a deal.
The companies gave no reason for the change but news reports suggested Foxconn was concerned about taking on additional liabilities it learned about late in the negotiations.
Asked what Foxconn's cunning plan to help Sharp recover from losses, Foxconn said that it would help the troubled outfit "upgrade its technology," but gave few other details.
Foxconn is Apple's key partner and Sharp makes Jobs' Mob's displays. Sharp was either going to be bought out by Foxconn or need another government bailout.