Sharp Restructuring Plan Fails to Impress

Sharp gains $1.9 billion bailout but restructuring steps disappoint

Japan's Sharp Corp said it had secured a $1.9 billion bailout, its second major bank-led rescue in three years, after falling deep into the red as its smartphone display business was battered by competition from Asian rivals.

But while new restructuring measures will include 5,000 job cuts or 10 percent of its global workforce as well as the sale of its headquarters, the steps were seen as not going far enough.

Chief Executive Kozo Takahashi said he was not considering spinning off the company's troubled display business and would continue making TVs in Japan, leaving investors doubting the company's long-term viability.

"The current business model is not convincing," said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Asset Management. "It has cutting-edge display technology but it's not profitable."  read more here