It's official: Sharp f'ed up & now is Chinese

[Taro Toporific]

dull-inc.gif

Japan loses electronics giant as Sharp accepts Hon Hai rescue
Japan Times | Feb. 25, 2016
Japan Inc. is losing one of its crown jewels after troubled electronics giant Sharp Corp. accepted a rescue package by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. of Taiwan. Sharp rejected a counteroffer by a consortium backed by the government.
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[inflames]

I have a friend who works for Sharp - I'm sure that, on some level, he (and his coworkers) are breathing a huge sigh of relief.

This is actually a win for basically everyone but the government - the banks (who have basically been running Sharp since late 2012) are probably happy as all hell to be able to wash their hands without taking huge write-offs on Sharp's loans.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Not Chinese. Taiwanese.

[matsuki]

What is Hon Hai's motivation for buying such a huge, shrinking ship?

[Taro Toporific]

What is Hon Hai's motivation for buying such a huge, shrinking ship?

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., also known as Foxconn

Wall Street Journal http://www.wsj.com
6:18 PM - 25 Feb 2016
Breaking: Foxconn said it is delaying the signing of a takeover agreement with Sharp

[Takechanpoo]

im pretty sure if hon hai was korean, j-netouyos would hysterically find fault with this purchasing. but fortunately(?), its taiwanese. almost no netouyos are opposing to it.

who starts innovation is always younger generation.
but present-day j-younger generations are cornered to be apathetic in everything by being imposed tons of the debts babyboomer generation made in every fields. the no.1 cause of death in youngers is suicide(!). its only in japan among developeds. even if they enter "1st grade" j-companies in which still remains to be seniority system but not lifetime employment any more, they just enslave and throw away those youngers.
until babyboomer genenrations become extinct, whatever you do is all pointless resistance here in japan.

[FG Lurker]

What is Hon Hai's motivation for buying such a huge, shrinking ship?

They want Sharp's LTPS technology. Foxconn has three display plants under construction where they are supposed to produce LTPS panels but they don't have the technical ability to actually produce them yet.

What they will do is buy Sharp and shut down essentially everything that isn't absolutely necessary for transferring the LTPS knowledge. Once they've managed to rip out the last bit of knowledge they'll shut that down too. I think it would be a big mistake for Sharp to sell out to Foxconn.

[FG Lurker]

im pretty sure if hon hai was korean, j-netouyos would hysterically find fault with this purchasing. but fortunately(?), its taiwanese. almost no netouyos are opposing to it.

It would be better for Sharp to be purchased by LG or Samsung. At least those companies actually make & market their own products and they might keep Sharp alive for R&D, some high end production, and access to the Japanese market. Foxconn will just take the technology and shut the business down.

[FG Lurker]

Wall Street Journal http://www.wsj.com
6:18 PM - 25 Feb 2016
Breaking: Foxconn said it is delaying the signing of a takeover agreement with Sharp

Apparently Sharp wanted to encode in the contract requirements that Foxconn would actually keep Sharp operating as a business. It's clear that Foxconn has no intention of doing this, they just want the display tech. I hope the sale doesn't go through.

[Russell]

I don't care one way or the other.

Never had good experiences with their products.

[matsuki]

l really like their displays and plasmacluster tech...the rest, not so special

Sent from my SO-03H using Tapatalk

[FG Lurker]

I don't care one way or the other. Never had good experiences with their products.

I've had great experiences with Sharp and their customer service was amazing both times I have needed it. Completely above and beyond all expectations.

[Grumpy Gramps]

I had great calculators back in the 1980s and 90s (Sharp PC 1401 and PC 1500 and one of their "Wizard" PDAs, which I am still missing somehow). So the name Sharp rings quite a positive chord in my ear. OTOH after those nice bits AFAIK I never owned anything Sharp ever again, so maybe that means something, too...

[yanpa]

My parents had (still have, I think) a 1970s stereo like this: https://www.etsy.com/listing/128201697/ ... ereo-tuner which is what I always assosciate with Sharp.

[inflames]

l really like their displays and plasmacluster tech...the rest, not so special

Sent from my SO-03H using Tapatalk

Sharp Aquos TVs are awesome.

[matsuki]

My personal impression is that the products are decent to great....the company management, on the other hand, not so much.

[Taro Toporific]

JAPANESE ZOMBIES
The Foxconn-Sharp fallout isn’t just about money—it’s about Japan’s national pride
QUARTZ (qz.com) 2016-Feb-25
Yesterday a long-gestating tech deal was finally sealed—only to fall apart again that same day. Japanese consumer electronics maker Sharp announced its board had accepted a buyout offer from iPhone assembler Foxconn for nearly $6 billion. Hours later, Foxconn announced it had put the deal on hold, reportedly due to financial liabilities [$6 billion!} revealed at the last minute.
The deal, which has been about four years in the making, is important in part because of the boost it would give Foxconn and Apple, its closest partner. But the turmoil surrounding it symbolizes the dilemma faced by Japan’s technology companies.
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[matsuki]

But saving zombie companies could stifle Japan’s global competitiveness in the long run.

If Japan’s bailouts remind you of the U.S.'s rescue of its auto companies, you’re not alone. There is a strong argument that the auto bailouts only delayed the day when General Motors and Chrysler lose out to nimbler competitors like Tesla Motors. But there are also some important differences. The U.S. auto bailouts were undertaken in the middle of a deep recession, and are highly unlikely to be repeated. Japan’s bank- and government-led bailouts come all the time, repeatedly, during normal economic times. Additionally, U.S. startups such as Tesla can look to capital markets for funding, while Japanese finance is dominated by large government-backed banks that want to preserve the supremacy of their large zombie clients. So while the U.S. bailouts might have hurt productivity somewhat, the situation in Japan is just much, much worse.

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2 ... panies-die

[legion]

The great thing about zombie companies is that they keep unemployed people pretending to work, unlike the UK where we tell unemployed people they can't work.

It's the way of the future.

[Russell]

Sharp’s ‘subpar’ performance prompts Hon Hai to warn of job cuts but vow to reward dedicated ranks

Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. boss Terry Gou wasted little time addressing his newly acquired employees at Sharp Corp., warning of job cuts while promising to reward workers who put their “heart and soul” into rebuilding one of the world’s iconic brands.

After Sharp’s results were released Thursday, in which the Japanese consumer electronics company posted a second straight annual loss, Gou, the chairman of the firm also known as Foxconn Technology Group, said in a letter to staff: “It is with a heavy heart that I say to you the results were subpar.”

A “close review of the company’s operations” highlighted a “level of inefficiency throughout Sharp,” and therefore a “very regrettable need” to reduce the workforce, he wrote.

The net loss at Osaka-based Sharp widened to ¥256 billion ($2.35 billion) in the year that ended in March from a loss of ¥222.3 billion a year earlier. That compares with the ¥161 billion loss expected by analysts.

Sharp’s struggle with deteriorating demand for its consumer electronics and displays has resulted in more than $12 billion in net losses over the past five years and raised doubts about its ability to survive as a going concern. Gou, who has built a fortune assembling devices for others, including Apple Inc., spent four years chasing the Japanese company before winning control with a $3.5 billion deal in March. He is now facing the task of reviving a company that makes products ranging from household appliances and solar panels to office equipment.

“My hope is all the necessary reviews and procedures will be completed swiftly and without issue so we can all get down to the important job of turning this great company around and helping it return to a global leadership position,” Gou wrote in the letter obtained by Bloomberg.

Once the workforce is trimmed, the company will put in place a “performance-based appraisal system designed to reward every Sharp employee who is truly committed to his/her work, putting heart and soul into everything he/she does,” according to the letter. Wage cuts and reductions in yearend bonuses are “a thing of the past.”

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[matsuki]

Once the workforce is trimmed, the company will put in place a “performance-based appraisal system designed to reward every Sharp employee who is truly committed to his/her work, putting heart and soul into everything he/she does,” according to the letter. Wage cuts and reductions in yearend bonuses are “a thing of the past.”

This is gonna be interesting...

[Coligny]

Nissan all over again, cut the dead branches and make monies...

[inflames]

Cut out all the crap businesses in the company and focus on what Sharp does well (which basically is displays).

I bet Foxconn is already "shopping" (as in basically trying to find someone to take them for free) the CE businesses, in addition to stuff like solar.