OREANDA-NEWS. Sharp Corporation announced that it has signed binding agreements with Slovakian company, Universal Media Corporation /Slovakia/ s.r.o. ("UMC") and Turkish company, VESTEL TICARET A.S. ("Vestel"), a sales company of Vestel Elektronik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. to begin alliances respectively on Sharp's audio visual and white goods businesses in Europe1. The signatures follow a resolution at a Sharp board of directors' meeting earlier today.

As a result, Sharp anticipates extraordinary losses will be incurred, as detailed below.

The LCD TV business, forming part of the audio visual business in Europe, will be changed into a brand licensing business by granting a license to UMC's LCD TV business in Europe. In particular, Sharp will be licensing the Sharp brand for the LCD TVs that are sold by UMC in Europe. In addition, Sharp agreed to discuss towards the possible sale of SMPL (Sharp Manufacturing Poland Sp. zo.o.), Sharp's manufacturing base in Poland for LCD TVs, to UMC. As part of the licensing of the Sharp brand, Sharp will support the design and development of UMC's LCD TVs. Regarding audio equipment, UMC will conduct the business in Europe, to market Sharp-branded audio-visual products manufactured by Sharp's manufacturing base in Malaysia, SOEM (S&O Electronics (Malaysia) Sdn.Bhd.).

The white goods business in Europe will be transferred to Vestel. Vestel will sell Sharp-brand white goods (excluding air conditioners), such as refrigerators and microwave ovens, manufactured by SATL (Sharp Appliances (Thailand) Ltd.), Sharp's consumer appliance manufacturing base in Thailand, and SSEC (Shanghai Sharp Electronics Co., Ltd.), Sharp's consumer appliance manufacturing base in Shanghai, China. Sharp will also license its brand to Vestel for Vestel-manufactured volume zone home appliances, such as refrigerators, washing machines and kitchen appliances such as dishwashers and electric ovens, in order to expand the Sharp-brand home appliance line-up, and Vestel will sell such goods.

Going forward, the terms of the business alliances will be finalized in the third quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2015, and the businesses based on a new value chain expected to commence on January 1, 2015 at the earliest.