Hasta La Gadget!

Sharp has been in a financial rut for quite a while now, and if things don’t go its way, it could wind up filing for bankruptcy. Many companies have rallied to save Sharp’s financial back by making generous investments. Samsung invested about $111.5 million in Sharp to gain a 3% stake in the LCD panel manufacturer, and Qualcomm invested $120 million in order for Sharp to develop MEMS display technology for Qualcomm’s subsidy, Pixtronix.

Foxconn wants to be one of Sharp’s investors as well, and the two parties have been in talks for quite a while. However, Sharp had stated at a press conference held on March 14th that talks with Foxconn are falling through. Foxconn responded by saying that its trying everything it can to secure a deal with Sharp. The two have been very satisfied with their joint LCD fabrication plant located in Sakai, Japan.

Many have speculated that Sharp is hesitant in sealing any deal with Foxconn because it’s currently looking to obtain loans from banks. With Samsung’s and Qualcomm’s investments behind it, Sharp believes it has a much higher chance to convince banks that giving it a loan is a great idea. With the bank loans, Sharp doesn’t necessarily need another investor on its back telling it what to do.

Sharp’s business is very important to many manufacturers. It provides displays for a variety of technology, including laptops, tablets, and mobile phones. Apple had spent $2.3 billion more on Sharp’s displays than it had expected in Q4 2012. Horace Dediu, an analyst whose primary focus is Apple and mobile phones, stated that if Sharp did file for bankruptcy, Apple’s production capacity may be jeopardized. He believes that “Apple’s late and unprecedented expenditure was to secure this asset.” Sharp’s investors have helped the company stay up-and-running, despite the huge losses it had suffered last November.

[via Tom’s Hardware]

Sharp may not need Foxconn after all is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Interestingly despite both Samsung and Sharp being competitors in the form of supplying display panels, it looks like Samsung will be lending Sharp a helping hand in the form of a $111.6 million investment. It is not news that Sharp hasn’t been doing too well recently in terms of their financials, and according to previous reports companies such as Apple, Intel, Qualcomm and even Foxconn were interested in helping out to keep Sharp afloat. Samsung’s investment of $111.6 million will net them a 3% stake in the company, making them the fifth largest stakeholder overall, and the largest individual shareholder that isn’t a financial institution. The deal made by Samsung will also give the South Korean company access to Sharp’s supply of LCD screens, and Sharp is also expected to use the money to help improve their TV and smartphone display panel production.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Sony Reader Store Launches Dedicated Kids Corner, San Francisco Bay Bridge Lights Up Ethernet-Enabled LEDs,

Big news in the interplay of Japanese and Korean electronics, Sharp Corporation today announced that it will receive a 10.4 billion Japanese Yen (USD111.4m) investment from Samsung Electronics Japan Co., Ltd. and will issues shares equivalent to 3.08% of the voting rights of the company.
Sharp says it is currently supplying Samsung Electronics with LCD panels and through this alliance will be able “secure its source of revenue from LCD business forming the company’s …

Word has it Samsung and Sharp are in talks over a possible investment on Samsung’s part into Sharp Corp. to the tune of $110 million. By doing this, both companies will benefits, with Sharp gaining a significant financial boost and Samsung gaining a 3-percent stake in the company. This information was provided by three sources said to be familiar with the situation.

According to the sources, the talks are in late stages, with Samsung likely to make the investment. Aside from the obvious gains, this partnership would be noteworthy on several levels, bringing together two companies from rivaling countries, both with their own consumer electronics powerhouses. Samsung is a Korean company, while Sharp is a Japanese company.

This would come at a time when Sharp has both suffered financially and has seen a drop in production of displays for the iPad as demand is refocused to the iPad mini, a device Sharp does not supply components for. Sharp’s spokesperson offered a decidedly ambiguous response to the rumors, reports Reuters: “This news is not something that has been announced by the company.”

Word has it the deal will officially be announced sometime today. This follows an investment into Sharp by Qualcomm late last year to the tune of $120 million. For its part, the two companies would join forces to develop energy-efficient IGZO-technology displays. Stay tuned, and we’ll be sure to keep you updated when we know more.

[via Reuters]

Samsung allegedly in talks with Sharp to invest $110 million is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We were rather heartbroken when Emblaze Mobile announced the premature death of its First Else project back in June 2010, with the culprit being “critical delays in deliveries;” so when we caught up with ex-CEO Amir Kupervas — who’s now running a startup called UIU — at MWC, we had to see if he had anything to add to the sad story. “It was ambitious for a small Israeli company to come into consumer electronics, build a brand and try to push it,” Kupervas emphasized. “When we started this project it wasn’t about ecosystem and apps and things like that. Eventually the iPhone came with its app store, and then Android came with its app store, and we were left behind.”

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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