If everything goes forward, the alliance could represent a sea change in the tech industry. Foxconn would not only get the freedom to make major consumer products under a brand it owns, but take display manufacturing under its wing -- it could assemble more of a given device entirely in-house. That could be particularly crucial for Apple, which is rumored to be making OLED iPhones in 2018. Apple could turn to its biggest manufacturing partner for screens and avoid supporting mobile rivals like LG and Samsung, both of which currently dominate the OLED space.

Update: It's official. Foxconn is spending $3.5 billion to get a controlling two-thirds stake in Sharp, and it has the option to increase that stake in 2017.