Samsung to become Sharp's largest foreign shareholder with 3% stake worth $112M

In accordance with the deal, as noted by The Next Web, Samsung will purchase 35.8 million shares of Sharp stock at a price of 290 yen per share on March 28, giving the Korean tech giant a 3.08 percent voting rights equivalent in the struggling Japanese firm. Sharp announced the alliance in a prepared statement published on its corporate website.

With the 10.4 billion yen (roughly $112 million) purchase, Samsung will become the fifth largest major Sharp shareholder and the largest foreign entity to hold a stake in the display maker. Previously, U.S. firm Qualcomm was the biggest foreign shareholder after a recent investment gave the chipmaker a 2.64 percent share of the company.

While Sharp already supplies Samsung with a limited number of displays, the capital alliance will "provide a long-term, stable and timely supply of LCD panels for large-size TVs and small- and medium-size LCD panels for mobiel decies such as notebook computers," the release said.

Apple also taps Sharp for LCD panels, meaning Samsung's move could be significant given the ongoing feud between the two tech titans. A recent The New York Times report posits that Samsung's injection of capital could help Sharp reduce its dependance on Apple, which uses the Japanese company's panels in iPhones and iPads.

Sharp plans to put the proceeds toward the development of high-definition LCD technologies and investment in facilities dedicated to the manufacture of mobile LCD panels.