Foxconn's Gou says deal with Sharp '90 percent there'

Foxconn Technology Group Chairman Terry Gou has taken a step forward in the hotly contested battle for control of Japan's Sharp Corp, winning an agreement to become the preferred negotiating partner for a bailout of the struggling consumer electronics maker.

Gou spoke outside Sharp headquarters in Osaka on Friday after a meeting that stretched hours past its planned completion time.

He held up a paper with his own signature and that of Sharp Chief Executive Officer Kozo Takahashi, and said he expects to have a final agreement by the end of February.