Foxconn confident of taking over Sharp

Foxconn Technology Group Chairman Terry Gou is confident his company will win in its bid to take control of Sharp Corp, the embattled maker of Aquos flat-screen televisions, he said on Sunday.

Sharp will make a decision next week on the offer, Gou said at a year-end event for his company in Taipei after he met with Sharp management at their headquarters in Osaka on Saturday. The Foxconn chairman had planned to make a bid of about 660 billion yen ($5.4 billion) for Sharp, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke before the meeting took place.

Gou's offer is designed to beat out an alternative deal with Innovation Network Corp of Japan, the Japanese government-backed fund, and would include about 390 billion yen to buy new shares for a controlling stake, said the person, who could not be identified because the information is not public.