![\"rumor](\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/rumor-a-295x300.gif\")
There were a couple of stories circulating the end of the year, which are sure to keep the rumor mill grinding as we begin 2016.<\/p>\nThere were a couple of stories circulating the end of the year, which are sure to keep the rumor mill grinding as we begin 2016.<\/p>\n
The first one reported that Sharp shares rose by 8 percent as the result of reports that the Taiwan company, Hon Hai Precisions industry was willing to pay \u00a5300B ($2.45B) for the company on the condition that Sharp top management (in Japan) be revamped. According to a Wall Street Journal<\/em> story, Hon Hai is primarily interested in Sharp\u2019s display technology, leaving some industry observers to speculate that should this deal go through Hon Hai might then turn around and sell off the assets of Sharp assets that it\u2019s not interested in. I\u2019ll leave it to you to speculate what those assets may be. Incidentally, this wouldn\u2019t be the first time Hon Hai has been mentioned in the same breath as Sharp. In 2012, the company attempted to take a 10 percent stake in Sharp, but decided against it after Sharp\u2019s share price declined.<\/p>\n The Wall Street Journal<\/em> doesn\u2019t consider this a smart move on Hon Hai\u2019s part, writing, \u201c\u2026a bid for all of Sharp would be going too far. It would involve having to turn around Sharp\u2019s struggling solar panel and household appliance businesses. Moreover, it would also mean taking on Sharp\u2019s \u00a5564 billion of net debt, more than twice its current market capitalization. Hon Hai could just be positioning itself for the coming battle over Sharp\u2019s display business. But if it does take over Sharp, Hon Hai would be biting off more than it could chew.\u201d<\/p>\n I’d be remiss not to mention another story related to Sharp that’s popped up this week and that is welcome news if true to those of us who cover Sharp, and that’s that Sharp’s\u00a0copier division is not for sale.<\/p>\n The other news comes to us courtesy of the Photizo Group\u2019s Ken Stewart who last week published an article titled, \u201cIs This the Death of Lexmark? Firm Rumored to Sell to Konica Minolta.\u201d<\/p>\n Stewart reports that Photizo received an unsolicited letter postmarked December 23, 2015 stating that \u201cPaul Rooke, Jeri Isbell, the executive officers of Lexmark, and the Board of Directors are preparing to sell Lexmark to Konica Minolta.\u201d The letter was signed by the Lexmark Employees for Ethical Conduct (LEEC).<\/p>\n The letter received by Photizo outlines details of the pending acquisition:<\/p>\n Those bullet points were presented in Stewart\u2019s article. Additionally, Stewart observed, \u201cWhile it is no surprise to us that Konica Minolta would be the ideal suitor, it is surprising that the firm would not be interested in the Lexmark\u2019s\u00a0Enterprise Software division, which we count equally interesting as the\u00a0intellectual capital the company has garnered in imaging hardware and managed services over the years. In fact, we question whether\u00a0Konica Minolta, vying for its own dominance in tomorrow\u2019s evolving landscape, would\u00a0be so shortsighted.\u201d Read the full Photizo article here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Oddly enough in my trends, trendsetters, and predictions for 2016 article in the January issue of ENX, I observed that the status quo would remain for both Sharp and Lexmark in 2016 although I may have erred on the side of optimism. I just wasn\u2019t expecting to be proven wrong so soon if indeed these rumors turn out to be true.<\/p>\n\n