Sharp says considering selling U.S. solar unit

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Sharp Corp said on Monday it was considering selling its U.S.-based solar energy development unit Recurrent Energy, but had yet to make a final decision on any deal.

On Sunday, the Nikkei business daily reported Sharp had agreed to sell Recurrent for about 30 billion yen (158.1 million pounds), and that the deal could be completed early next year.

In a statement concerning Recurrent, Sharp said it was "considering various possibilities including the sale of the company but there are no final decisions at this point."

Sharp paid $305 million in cash in 2010 to acquire Recurrent Energy. Selling the company now would help Sharp to raise capital as it struggles to raise its equity ratio to a healthy level.

This year, Sharp shut down its British solar plant and also pulled out of a venture with Italian energy firm Enel SpA (ENEI.MI) to make solar panels and generate solar power.

(This version of the story was corrected to remove erroneous references to Canadian Solar in headline and throughout story text.)

(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Kim Coghill, Miral Fahmy and Christian Plumb)