Sharp Accepts $6 Billion Bid From Foxconn, Which Then Puts Deal On Hold

By Bill Chappell

Published February 25, 2016 at 7:03 AM EST

Terry Gou, chairman of Foxconn Technology Group, speaks to media at the Sharp Corp. headquarters in Osaka, Japan, earlier this month. The two companies are in takeover talks.

Ailing electronics maker Sharp has accepted a takeover bid from Foxconn, the company that assembles iPhones. After the deal was announced, Sharp's stock fell more than 14 percent. And Foxconn now says it will postpone finalizing the sale due to late-arriving information.

Thursday night local time, Foxconn issued a statement in Taiwan saying that it will now delay signing the deal, because of a document that Sharp shared with it on Wednesday, according to Focus Taiwan News, which adds that the sale was previously planned to be finalized by the end of this month.

NPR's Elise Hu reports:

"The deal marks a rare case in which one of Japan's top brands is going to a foreign company. Taiwan's Foxconn won the bidding by paying a hefty premium over a Japanese fund.

"Foxconn is an Apple contractor perhaps best known for its iPhone assembly plants in China. Japanese electronics maker Sharp is one of the three suppliers of iPhone screens.

"But Sharp is facing heavy losses. Foxconn has pledged to keep Sharp intact following the takeover and avoid major layoffs — but it hasn't given any details as to how it will stem losses. The deal now requires the approval of Sharp shareholders."

The Japan Times says the proposed deal would mean the loss of one of the country's crown jewels, calling it "the largest-ever acquisition of a Japanese electronics maker by a foreign company."