Sharp has reportedly offered to sell a stake to Foxconn Technology Group for less than initially planned, the Nikkei newspaper reported today. The Japanese television maker in March agreed in March to sell a stake to Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group.

However, Sharp' s and Foxconn's executives did not reach an agreement during a meeting in Japan in the 30th of August.

"We were unable to finish the deal because we ran out of time, although both sides had made indications of wanting to resolve the issue," Sharp president Mr. Okuda said in the Sept. 1 interview with The Asahi Shimbun.

Now the shares Foxconn and its Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. unit had agreed to buy for 550 yen each should instead be sold at the average price for Sharp shares, the report said.

Okuda added that he was confident that the the parties would reach an agreement by the end of the month. He added that negotiations over the capital contribution from Hon Hai would be part of an overall package that covered the entire business partnership. The agreement would also cover the sale of Sharp's overseas plants to Hon Hai as well as a strengthening of the two companies' partnership in the mobile phone sector. The two companies plan to begin manufacturing smartphones in China by the end of the year and sell the phones in Japan, Asia, Europe and the United States.

In the meantime, Sharp is seeking to raise cash and cut costs. The company has said it will cut 5,000 jobs to help reduce fixed costs by 100 billion yen.