Foxconn Takeover of Sharp in Jeopardy Over $2.7 Billion in Undisclosed Liabilities

Foxconn has extended a deadline for takeover talks with Sharp by 1-2 weeks after being informed of a massive $2.7 billion in undisclosed liabilities, reports Reuters. Earlier this week Sharp accepted a takeover offer of $5.8 billion from Foxconn.

Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou reportedly received a list of liabilities in an email from Sharp on Wednesday during a meeting at the company's headquarters in Taipei. Dozens of people were in the room and they reportedly 'went berserk'.

“If you face this amount of liabilities at the very last stage of the negotiations, people would get upset—that’s normal,” said Nobumichi Hattori, a former mergers-and-acquisitions banker who is now a visiting professor at Waseda University’s Graduate School of Finance, Accounting and Law. “It depends on what those contingent liabilities are, but they could lead to changes in the deal conditions or a complete pullout by Foxconn.”


As one would expect, Foxconn put a hold on signing the deal with Sharp. In a brief statement on Friday, the company said: "Most of the contents of the material information Foxconn received on Wednesday morning, before Sharp’s board meeting began on Thursday, had not been previously proposed nor offered during negotiations between the two sides."

Both sides are now discussing the matter "with the aim of reaching a comprehensive understanding and resolution of the situation. We hope to reach a satisfactory agreement as soon as possible."

Foxconn founder Terry Gou and Sharp CEO Kozo Takahashi met in China, according to a Reuters source.

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