The Japanese multinational corporation Sharp that designs and manufactures electronic products had entered into a manufacturing agreement with Foxconn taking a stake of around 10 percent in the Japanese manufacturer. Foxconn will also take over up to 50 percent of the LCD production at Sharp’s plant in Sakai, Osaka. The Sakai plant will now be owned 46.5 percent by Sharp, the same amount by Foxconn, and 7 percent by Sony.
The investment made by Foxconn is about ¥67 billion ($809.1 million dollars) of capital into Sharp in return for around 121.65 million new shares. Businessweek reports that the deal could signal that Apple is planning to create a television.
Bloomberg cites comments from multiple analysts who speculate that the investment will give Hon Hai “prime display capacity on the cheap.” One analyst tells Bloomberg, “maybe [Hon Hai] is betting on 60-inch TVs seeing a renaissance… or maybe on Apple TV.” The Sharp plant would provide Apple with the capacity to churn out 55-inch or larger displays if rumoured reports turns true.
