Foxconn agrees to buy Sharp at reduced price

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn says it has agreed to buy a controlling stake in Sharp Corp. for $2.6 billion following weeks of uncertainty over what the Japanese company said was a previous agreement at a higher price.

Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., which assembles phones and other products for Apple and other brands, said Wednesday it would buy 66 percent of Sharp. That would make Sharp the first major Japanese electronics producer to be bought by a foreign company.

Sharp said in February it had agreed to a purchase price of $4.4 billion but Foxconn said it wasn't ready to sign a deal. News reports suggested Foxconn was concerned about the cost of taking on additional liabilities it learned about late in the negotiations.