Foxconn, the Taiwanese company best known as a top iPhone assembler, has proposed a 625 billion yen ($5.3 billion) takeover bid for troubled Japanese electronics maker Sharp, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Sharp, which has been repeatedly bailed out by banks in the past, has 510 billion yen-worth of loans due for repayment in March, according to the report, which added that Foxconn would take on Sharp's existing debts as part of the deal.
Sharp is also in talks over a competing takeover offer from a Japanese government-backed investment fund.
The WSJ reported that Japanese officials had expressed concern over the possibility of Sharp coming under foreign control.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the WSJ said that Foxconn's debt undertaking was designed to persuade Sharp's creditors to favor its offer regardless of the political considerations.
When asked about the reported big, a Foxconn spokesperson told CNBC that the company did not comment on market rumor or speculation.
Read the full Wall Street Journal report here.