Innovation Network Corp. of Japan is pitching Sharp Corp.’s board on plans to create a Japanese smart home-appliances giant, as the state-backed fund seeks support for its bailout bid over a rival offer from an overseas bidder, people with knowledge of the matter said.
INCJ, which has offered to inject about 300 billion yen ($2.6 billion) of new funds into Sharp, aims to use about 100 billion yen of that amount for acquisitions of other domestic appliance businesses, one of the people said. The Japanese fund is also preparing a bid for Toshiba Corp.’s white-goods unit, which it would then merge with Sharp, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private.
Under the plan being presented by INCJ, Sharp would focus on selling network-connected home appliances, taking advantage of a group of technologies known as the Internet of Things, according to the people. The Osaka-based company’s unprofitable liquid crystal display manufacturing operations would be combined with INCJ-backed Japan Display Inc. to build scale, they said.
INCJ is seeking to convince Sharp its bailout offer trumps a rescue bid from Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group, a sign the fund is determined to keep fighting in the takeover battle. Its plan to create a national champion in the home-appliance industry follows the creation of Japan Display, a supplier of iPhone screens that INCJ formed four years ago from the struggling screen units of Toshiba, Sony Corp. and Hitachi Ltd. read more here