Finally, the announcement we’ve all been waiting for! Sharp is being purchased by Foxconn. I don’t know how anyone can look at this and not think it’s good news for Sharp, especially the business products group.
Foxconn is number 31 on the Global 1000 list of companies, giving Sharp immediate financial stability. By the way, Foxconn, which Sharp will now be part of, has 1.3 million employees and did $132.5 Billion in revenue in 2014. Overnight, Sharp becomes one of the biggest, if not the biggest company in our space. Talk about a 180 degree change!
The big concern if I was a Sharp dealer is whether Foxconn might night just spin off the office products groups. My understanding is that Foxconn has committed $450 million to the business products group. I’d guess a huge chunk of that will come to the US market as it’s arguably Sharp’s biggest opportunity.
At the moment there are signs the terms may not be completely set in stone as Foxconn tries to negotiate a lower price but all signs point to this deal getting done. Assuming it does go through…
$450 million to be spent on R&D, factories, marketing or wherever it winds up. In my opinion, this is the best possible thing that could have happened to the Sharp business products group and I am sure they’re very excited for the deep pockets, financial commitment and stability this acquisition brings to them.
The following appears on Gizmodo.com
Foxconn is best known as the sometimes-controversial Taiwanese manufacturer used by Apple to assemble iPhones. Sharp is an ailing Japanese company that used to make plasma TVs, and now makes iPhone displays.
The Nikkei Asian Review reports that Sharp’s board has accepted a $6.2 billion buyout from Foxconn. Normally, component manufacturers changing hands isn’t a big deal, but given Apple’s strong ties to both Foxconn and Sharp, it’s worth taking a moment.
Foxconn doesn’t currently manufacture iPhone components—it takes shipments of screens, chips and sensors, and turns them into Snapchatting machines. Apple doesn’t technically own Foxconn, but with the size of the contracts between the two, it’s assumed they have a rather cordial working relationship.
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