The following appears on bloomberg.com
Sharp Corp. (6753), the Japanese electronics maker that reported a record loss last year, climbed the most in four months in Tokyo trading after a report it was considering a tie-up with Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) Co. in photocopiers.
Shares advanced 7.6 percent, the most since July 2, to close at 299 yen after Kyodo News published a one-line dispatch on its English-language website.
“The report is not announced by the company,” said Sharp spokesman Yoshifumi Seki. “I cannot comment on business with specific companies.” Michael Thacker, a spokesman for Hewlett-Packard, declined to comment.
“It’s positive for Sharp if it can close the deal,” said Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at Ace Research Institute in Tokyo. “Photocopier margins are high, so if they increase sales, profit will also increase.”
Samsung Electronics Co. (005930), Asia’s biggest technology company, said in March its offer to buy Sharp’s photocopier business was rejected. The price wasn’t disclosed.
Today’s advance pared Sharp’s decline this year to 1.3 percent. The broader Topix index has surged 43 percent in the same period, Panasonic Corp. has doubled and Sony Corp. has jumped 95 percent.
