A new report says that Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry has offered 200 billion yen ($1.7 billion) to buy Sharp 's entire LCD business may. Japan's Mainichi newspaper said on Monday said on Monday that Hon Hai planned to ask iPhone maker and customer Apple, which is also a client of Sharp, to invest a "few hundred million dollars" to help with funding the purchase.

Sharp declined to comment.

The Nikkei business daily had last week reported that Hon Hai had offered to buy the entire LCD business, but it did specify how much Hon Hai was willing to pay.

Tie-up talks between Hon Hai and Sharp fell through in 2012 after the Japanese company baulked at demands that it said would have given the Taiwanese firm too much control. The two companies jointly operate a plant in Osaka that makes large LCD panels.