Sharp move. This week, struggling Japanese electronics company Sharp promoted Hon Hai to the front of the queue in its search for a buyer. As well it might: the Taiwanese contract manufacturer also known as Foxconn is offering the highest price — about $5.5bn for the equity¹, more than double the only other offer.

精明的决策。本周，陷入困境的日本电子企业夏普(Sharp)将鸿海(Hon Hai)列为优先考虑的出售对象。这样也好，这家台湾代工制造商——又名富士康(Foxconn)——提出了最高报价：以大约55亿美元收购其股权，是唯一另外报价的两倍多。

This would be great for Japan. It shows an unexpected willingness to let market forces rule rather than rescue a dying national champion. The other bidder² in the running is the state-owned Innovation Corporation of Japan. Despite the difference in pricing, Sharp initially³ backed that bid, hoping to keep its technology in Japanese hands. A similar intent was behind suggestions that Sharp should merge⁴ with units of ailing⁵ compatriot, Toshiba, a deal also supported by INCJ.

这对日本将是一个极好的消息。它表明日本出人意料地愿意让市场力量发挥作用，而非纾困一家濒危的国家冠军企业。另一个竞购者是日本国有的“产业革新机构”(INCJ)。尽管报价上存在显著差异，但夏普最初支持INCJ的报价，目的是将其技术留在日本。此外还有人出于类似意图提议，夏普应该与同样陷入苦苦挣扎的本国企业东芝(Toshiba)旗下的部门合并，这也得到INCJ的支持。

Not so great for patient suitor Hon Hai, which has been eyeing Sharp for at least four years. In 2012, Hon Hai tried to buy one-tenth of the company, but was rebuffed because it wanted management influence. Compared with the sum Hon Hai offered then — valuing Sharp’s equity at more than $8bn — $5.5bn may seem a good deal. In 2012 its market capitalisation was $6.4bn until Hon Hai’s bid came along. But Hon Hai is still paying up: Sharp’s equity traded at well below $2bn before deal talk emerged this year.

对颇有耐心、至少觊觎夏普4年的鸿海来说，事情则没有那么美好。2012年，鸿海曾试图收购夏普10%的股份，但由于它想要管理上的话语权而遭到拒绝。与鸿海当时的报价（对夏普的估值超过80亿美元）相比，55亿美元似乎是不错的交易。2012年，夏普市值为64亿美元——直至鸿海提出报价。但鸿海仍付出了高价：在今年谈判消息出现之前，夏普的市值远低于20亿美元。

Not only is Sharp pricey, the fit of the two companies is not obvious. True, they are already connected through their relationship to Apple: Sharp makes screens for iPhones, which Foxconn assembles. Foxconn chairman and founder⁶ Terry Gou also has a personal investment in one of Sharp’s production facilities. At best, ownership of Sharp’s screen technology might give Hon Hai greater leverage⁷ over Apple. But this does not justify⁸ the premium⁹ for Sharp’s other businesses, which run from fridges to solar cells.

不仅仅是夏普价格高昂，这两家公司的组合效应也不是很明显。没错，它们已通过各自与苹果(Apple)的关系联系在一起：夏普为iPhone生产屏幕，富士康负责组装iPhone。富士康董事长和创始人郭台铭(Terry Gou)个人还入股了夏普的一家生产厂。拥有夏普的屏幕技术最多可能会让鸿海拥有相对于苹果的更大谈判优势。但这不能证明高价买下夏普其他业务（从冰箱到太阳能电池）的合理性。

If Sharp does sell to Hon Hai, Japan should be applauded. The same cannot be said for Hon Hai.

如果夏普果真出售给鸿海，人们应该对日本鼓掌祝贺。但同样的话不适用于鸿海。