Sharp Corp. (6753), a supplier of screens to Apple Inc., will raise as much as 166.4 billion yen ($1.7 billion) in share sales in an effort to rebuild its balance sheet after record annual losses.
Japan’s largest maker of liquid-crystal displays will sell as much as 149 billion yen of shares to the public, the Osaka-based company said in a statement today. The company also will make allotments to Makita Corp. (6586), Denso Corp. (6902) and Lixil Group Corp. (5938), with proceeds to be used for capital expenditure, it said.
Intensified competition in LCDs and flat-panel TVs drove Sharp to losses totaling 921 billion yen during the past two financial years. The supplier for Apple’s iPhone and iPad is tapping into surging demand for new stock amid a Japanese rally in shares after previously selling minority stakes to Samsung Electronics Co. and Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM)