【英语财经】夏普接受富士康收购要约 Sharp agrees $5.9bn takeover by Foxconn

Sharp’s board has agreed to a $5.9bn bailout package by Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry in a deal that would mark the biggest foreign takeover of a Japanese consumer electronics group.

Thursday’s takeover caps a months-long takeover battle that has pitted the Apple supplier, better known as Foxconn, against a Japanese state-backed fund.

The fight between the two buyers had sparked an emotional debate whether the fate of the struggling century-old stalwart of corporate Japan should be left to the forces of global competition or in the hands of a protectionist government.

Following deeply divisive discussions over the past few weeks, Sharp’s 13-member board voted unanimously to accept Hon Hai’s offer totalling Y659bn ($5.9bn), according to two people familiar with Thursday’s board meeting. Hon Hai was not immediately available for comment.

Hon Hai’s bid was more than double the price offered by state-backed Innovation Network Corporation of Japan. But initially, the INCJ had been tipped as a frontrunner amid concerns about Sharp’s display technology falling into foreign hands.

People familiar with the talks say the debate eventually tipped in the favour of Hon Hai with Sharp’s two main lenders, Mizuho and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, opting for its offer which also included a promise to buy Y200bn of Sharp’s preferred stock owned by the banks.

夏普(Sharp)董事会已同意台湾鸿海精密(Hon Hai Precision Industry)提出的59亿美元纾困方案，这宗交易将成为最大一宗外资收购日本消费电子集团的交易。

周四的收购为一场耗时数月的收购战画上了句号，对垒双方分别是苹果(Apple)供货商鸿海精密——该公司更为人所知的名字是富士康(Foxconn)——以及日本政府支持的“产业革新机构”(INCJ)。

夏普成立已有百年，是日本企业界的中坚力量。这场收购战引发了一场动感情的辩论，主题是这家陷入困境的公司的命运到底是应由全球竞争力量支配，还是应交到一个奉行保护主义的政府的手中？

两名知情人士透露，夏普的13名董事会成员经过数周分歧很大的讨论后，在周四的董事会会议上一致投票赞成接受鸿海总额为6590亿日元（合59亿美元）的报价。记者未能立刻联系上鸿海请其置评。

鸿海的出价比日本产业革新机构的出价高出一倍以上。但一开始，由于有关方面担心夏普的显示技术落入外国人手中，日本产业革新机构曾被认为是领跑者。

据了解谈判情况的人士透露，这场辩论最终倾向于支持鸿海，夏普的两大债权人瑞穗(Mizuho)和三菱东京日联银行(Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ)选择接受鸿海的报价，该报价还包括承诺买入几家银行持有的2000亿日元夏普优先股。

译者/何黎