Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known as Foxconn, will reportedly offer to take a stake in Sharp as part of assistance to help the troubled Japanese electronics manufacturer. Two years ago, the two companies had agreed on a deal worth about 67 billion yen ($550 million) in which the Taiwanese contract electronics manufacturer would buy 9.9% of Sharp's shares for 550 yen apiece. But the deal fell through when Sharp's stock price plunged.

Nikkei reports that Hon Hai acknowledged that the company will offer help to Sharp. Hon Hai Chairman Terry Gou is expected to visit Japan soon and discuss the proposed assistance plan, which maky include Hon Hai increasing its ownership of a liquid crystal display plant in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, that the two companies have operated together.

Hon Hai announced in November that it will construct a plant for small and midsize smartphone LCD panels in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung, with mass production to begin in the second half of 2016. Obviously, the Taiwanese company, which lists Apple as its largest client, could take advantage of a deal with Sharp, as the latter has a proven expertise in the display field.