Sharp to Raise up to $1.5 Billion in Public Share Offering

TOKYO--Japanese display maker Sharp Corp. (6753.TO) will issue new shares in a public offering to raise as much as Y150 billion ($1.5 billion) to shore up its loss-depleted finances, two people familiar with the matter said Thursday.

The Apple Inc. (AAPL) supplier also plans to raise additional funds of a few tens of billions of yen from a group of companies as diverse as bathroom and interior fixture maker Lixil Group Corp. (5938.TO), lawn mower maker Makita Corp. (6586.TO), and auto parts maker Denso Corp. (6902.TO), other people with knowledge of the matter said.

Rivals such as South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. (005930.SE), Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (2317.TW), as well as U.S. chip supplier Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) have already invested in the Japanese company.

Sharp is under pressure to secure funds to cover a pension-fund shortfall in the year to next March while it attempts a reboot of its century-old company, after a series of bold bets in cutting-edge factories soured.

A spokeswoman for Sharp said the company was considering a public share offering as well as other fundraising options, but nothing had been decided.

Write to Mayumi Negishi at [e-mail]

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