Sharp Corp announced that it would be raising up to USD 1.68 billion or JPY 166.5 billion through a public offer and third party placements. The amount was confirmed by the Japanese electronics maker Wednesday. Sources had earlier told Reuters that the company would be raising as much as USD 1.7 billion. 

Sharp said it would be raising JPY 17.5 billion through placements from three third-party firms. The company also confirmed reports from sources that the companies participating in the placement would be the Lixil Group, Denso Corp and Makita Corp. The rest would come from the public offer.

According to Reuters, the fundraising would help the company beef up its balance sheet to be able to jumpstart its recovery in the LCD market. Last year, Sharp obtained a bank bailout worth USD 4.6 billion to avert failure. Samsung Electronics Co and Qualcomm Inc had also invested in the Japanese firm. Apple Inc is one of Sharp's customers for display panels.