LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. 2317, +0.77% HNHAF, +8.74% is set to buy 10% of Japanese electronics major Sharp Corp. 6753, +1.56% SHCAF, -1.17% for 66.91 billion yen ($806 million), reports said Tuesday, with the two to form a tie-up in liquid-crystal-display production. The purchase marks the largest-ever investment by a Taiwanese firm in a Japanese one, according to Dow Jones Newswires, which said the deal was "heavily symbolic" of the decline of Japan's electronics industry, coming just ahead of the 100th anniversary of the founding of Sharp, which has forecast a ¥290 billion loss for the fiscal year ending this month. The move will make Hon Hai into Sharp's largest shareholder, reports said. The deal also calls for Hon Hai to buy up to 50% of the LCD displays from Sharp's Sakai plant in Japan.