Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industries has hardened its negotiating position and discussed lowering its original $6bn offer for the embattled Japanese electronics maker Sharp, say people close to the deal.
The sudden gambit, which was described by one insider as coming “straight from the negotiating playbook” of Terry Gou, Hon Hai’s president, represents another twist in a deal that has been stalled almost from the moment it was agreed by Sharp’s board in February.
Sharp agreed to a bailout that would involve issuing Y489bn of new stock to Hon Hai, which would give the Taiwanese group that is better known as Foxconn a 66 per cent controlling stake in the company. But progress was suspended within a few hours after Sharp provided its potential rescuer with information on what people familiar with the matter said were Y300bn ($2.7bn) in potential liabilities.