Foxconn Offers $5.45 Billion For 2/3 Share Of Sharp

iPhone manufacturer Foxconn Technology Co Ltd increased its offer for electronics company Sharp Corporation Friday morning, The Wall Street Journal reports. The $5.45 billion deal would give Foxconn around two-thirds of the company's shares and dilute existing investors' holdings.

Foxconn's offer is nearly twice that of its competition for Sharp. An investment fund backed by the Japanese government, the Innovation Network Corp., offered around $2.47 billion. The Japanese government is looking to keep Sharp under Japanese control, fearing management shuffling and job cuts under Foxconn. Foxconn is a Taiwanese company.

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Foxconn may have to assume at least $4 billion in Sharp debt under the deal, according to an analyst quoted by the Financial Times Friday.

Foxconn's Japanese shares were up 5 percent Friday morning. Sharp shares were up a little less than 1 percent.