Apple’s biggest partner gobbles up iPhone display maker [Updated]

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Foxconn is getting an even bigger slice of the Apple pie.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Foxconn, a.k.a. one of Apple’s biggest suppliers, has agreed in principle to a deal to take over struggling Japanese electronics firm Sharp in a takeover worth $5.25 billion in shares.

Considering that Sharp is currently making a loss, this is a lot of money to shell out on the part of Foxconn. In the last 9 months of 2015, Sharp lost around $960 million, which has led to some Foxconn shareholders questioning whether it is an overall good investment.

What this does do, however, is to give Foxconn an even bigger slice of the iPhone -producing pie. Foxconn has had its eye on Sharp for some time now, prior to some of its recent losses. Foxconn CEO Terry Gou personally acquired 38 percent ownership of a Sharp display factory in Sakai, Japan, back in 2012, although a subsequent deal for Foxconn to purchase a 10 percent stake in the company fell apart.

While Apple has recently focused on expanding its supply chain so as not to rely too heavily on any one company, Foxconn has been attempting to snap up some of the other companies which regularly do business with Apple. Back in October, Foxconn made a bid for a share in chip-making company Siliconware Precision Industries, only for this to be shot down by SPIL’s board of directors.

The Foxconn/Sharp takeover hasn’t been completed yet, but we’ll keep you updated as news continues to arrive.

Update: According to Reuters, the deal has been put on hold after the discovery of previously-undisclosed liabilities. More news will follow.

Source: CNN Money

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