The founder of China&#39;s debt-laden&nbsp;LeEco&nbsp;resigned as chairman of its main listed unit, just hours after making a public plea for patience amid a deepening financial crisis at the entertainment, electronics and electric vehicles group.

Leshi Internet Information &amp; Technology Beijing said Jia Yueting will remain controlling shareholder without any role, having resigned as chief executive in May to focus on the electric car business, of which he will now become chairman.

The announcement came after Jia on social media promised to repay debt and reaffirmed LeEco&#39;s electric car commitment.

&quot;Please give&nbsp;LeEco&nbsp;some time, please give&nbsp;LeEco&nbsp;car some time,&quot; Jia Yueting wrote in Chinese on his Weibo and WeChat accounts. &quot;We will pay back creditors, suppliers and any other debts.&quot;

The plea came about a month after Jia said a cash crunch at&nbsp;LeEco&nbsp;was &quot;far worse than expected&quot;. He previously said the group, whose businesses include telephones, television sets and cars, expanded too quickly from its video-streaming beginnings 13 years ago.

Jia&#39;s resignation is the latest development in a week of turmoil, with asset managers seeking to pull investment after a Shanghai court granted China Merchant Bank&#39;s&nbsp;request to freeze $182 million in assets due to late interest payments.

&quot;Given&nbsp;LeEco&#39;s current state, in order to protect fund safety, we have asked our fund manager to pause new investment and will seek to hasten our exit from invested projects,&quot; Noah Holdings Ltd said in a statement.

Hengyu Tianze, known as 1314 fund, also said it had requested to redeem its convertible bonds in a&nbsp;LeEco&nbsp;unit several times since March and had met with Jia on the matter.

Investors were also spooked on Monday after it emerged that China&#39;s national enterprise credit information publicity system showed Jia relinquished his role as&nbsp;LeEco&#39;s legal representative last month in favour of another executive, Wu Meng.

&quot;Resigning as chief executive of&nbsp;LeEco&#39;s listed company and many other roles is all aimed at making the FF91 go into production and hit the market as soon as possible,&quot; Jia said earlier referring to a luxury electric car that&nbsp;LeEco&nbsp;is developing with US startup Faraday Future.

Analysts have said&nbsp;LeEco&#39;s foray into automaking caused its financial troubles, but Jia said&nbsp;LeEco remains committed.

&quot;Our dream to revolutionise the auto industry cannot be defeated, however big a bank run,&quot; Jia said, using Chinese characters that mean both &#39;bank run&#39; and &#39;jibe&#39;.

Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corp Beijing said Jia Yueting will remain controlling shareholder without any role

The founder of China's debt-laden LeEco resigned as chairman of its main listed unit, just hours after making a public plea for patience amid a deepening financial crisis at the entertainment, electronics and electric vehicles group. Leshi Internet Information & Technology Beijing said Jia Yueting will remain controlling shareholder without any role, having resigned as chief executive in May to focus on the electric car business, of which he will now become chairman. The announcement came after Jia on social media promised to repay debt and reaffirmed LeEco's electric car commitment. "Please give LeEco some time, please give LeEco car some time," Jia Yueting wrote in Chinese on his Weibo and WeChat accounts. "We will pay back creditors, suppliers and any other debts." The plea came about a month after Jia said a cash crunch at LeEco was "far worse than expected". He previously said the group, whose businesses include telephones, television sets and cars, expanded too quickly from its video-streaming beginnings 13 years ago. Jia's resignation is the latest development in a week of turmoil, with asset managers seeking to pull investment after a Shanghai court granted China Merchant Bank's request to freeze $182 million in assets due to late interest payments. "Given LeEco's current state, in order to protect fund safety, we have asked our fund manager to pause new investment and will seek to hasten our exit from invested projects," Noah Holdings Ltd said in a statement. Hengyu Tianze, known as 1314 fund, also said it had requested to redeem its convertible bonds in a LeEco unit several times since March and had met with Jia on the matter. Investors were also spooked on Monday after it emerged that China's national enterprise credit information publicity system showed Jia relinquished his role as LeEco's legal representative last month in favour of another executive, Wu Meng. "Resigning as chief executive of LeEco's listed company and many other roles is all aimed at making the FF91 go into production and hit the market as soon as possible," Jia said earlier referring to a luxury electric car that LeEco is developing with US startup Faraday Future. Analysts have said LeEco's foray into automaking caused its financial troubles, but Jia said LeEco remains committed. "Our dream to revolutionise the auto industry cannot be defeated, however big a bank run," Jia said, using Chinese characters that mean both 'bank run' and 'jibe'.

China's LeEco founder resigns amid financial crunch

The founder of China&#39;s struggling tech group LeEco, Jia Yueting, pledged to take full responsibility for the company&#39;s debt troubles amid a deepening financial crisis and after some of the company&#39;s assets were frozen.

Jia apologised for causing worry and pledged to pay back LeEco&#39;s debts and to stick to its ambitious electric vehicle project.

&quot;Please give LeEco some time, please give LeEco car some time, we will pay back creditors, suppliers and any other debts,&quot; Jia wrote.

Concerns about Jia&#39;s position at LeEco were raised after Chinese newspapers reported this week that he was no longer LeEco&#39;s legal representative. Additionally, earlier this week $182 million of assets owned by Jia or the firm were frozen by a court in Shanghai.

The online record of China&#39;s national enterprise credit information publicity system does show that in June LeEco Holdings&#39; legal representative changed from Jia to another company executive Wu Meng.

Jia pointed out that he still has an important role at LeEco.&quot;I am still LeEco&#39;s executive director and largest shareholder, resigning from listed company CEO job and many other important roles is all aimed at making FF91 go to production and hit the market as soon as possible,&quot; Jia said, referring to LeEco&#39;s luxury electric car concept under Faraday Future in the US.

While many analysts said LeEco&#39;s expensive ambition in electric vehicles caused the biggest financial problem for the Netflix-to-Telsa-like conglomerate, Jia was emphatic that LeEco remains committed to its car strategy, with its &quot;dream to revolutionise the auto industry&quot; remaining &quot; undefeatable&quot;.

Earlier this week, $182 million of assets owned by LeEco founder Jia Yueting or the firm were frozen by a court in Shanghai

The founder of China's struggling tech group LeEco, Jia Yueting, pledged to take full responsibility for the company's debt troubles amid a deepening financial crisis and after some of the company's assets were frozen. Jia apologised for causing worry and pledged to pay back LeEco's debts and to stick to its ambitious electric vehicle project. "Please give LeEco some time, please give LeEco car some time, we will pay back creditors, suppliers and any other debts," Jia wrote. Concerns about Jia's position at LeEco were raised after Chinese newspapers reported this week that he was no longer LeEco's legal representative. Additionally, earlier this week $182 million of assets owned by Jia or the firm were frozen by a court in Shanghai. The online record of China's national enterprise credit information publicity system does show that in June LeEco Holdings' legal representative changed from Jia to another company executive Wu Meng. Jia pointed out that he still has an important role at LeEco."I am still LeEco's executive director and largest shareholder, resigning from listed company CEO job and many other important roles is all aimed at making FF91 go to production and hit the market as soon as possible," Jia said, referring to LeEco's luxury electric car concept under Faraday Future in the US. While many analysts said LeEco's expensive ambition in electric vehicles caused the biggest financial problem for the Netflix-to-Telsa-like conglomerate, Jia was emphatic that LeEco remains committed to its car strategy, with its "dream to revolutionise the auto industry" remaining " undefeatable".

LeEco head takes full responsibility for the company's financial crisis

LeEco&#39;s cash problems are &quot;far worse than expected&quot; and the funds raised in recent months are unexpectedly not enough to help the Chinese technology conglomerate ride out the crunch, its chairman Jia Yueting said.

LeEco, one of China&#39;s most ambitious companies that grew from a Netflix-like video website to a business empire spanning consumer electronics to cars within 13 years, is struggling to support its goals that include beating Elon Musk&#39;s Tesla Motors in premium electric vehicle making.

Its billionaire founder and CEO Yueting has previously said the firm was facing a &quot;big company disease&quot; and battling a cash crunch after expanding at an unprecedented rate. Earlier this year, Jia thought the company had found a solution to its cash problems when Chinese property developer Sunac agreed to invest 15 billion yuan ($2.21 billion), including 9 billion yuan into LeEco&#39;s non-listed entities.

&quot;We had thought some 9 billion yuan for the non-listed units would have been able to solve all the problems, the result obviously did not meet our expectations,&quot; Jia said at the annual shareholder meeting of the group&#39;s main listed unit, Leshi Internet Information &amp; Technology. &quot;Since October, we took some measures and made some mistakes, but LeEco&#39;s non-listed units&#39; finances got tighter. This is what we discovered over two-to-three months,&quot; he said, a company transcript of the meeting held in Beijing shows.

LeEco will need to further consolidate its non-listed units in the next two-three months, &quot;dispose of some fixed assets and even equity assets&quot; in order to combat what Jia described as &quot;a second cash crunch&quot; from April. He added that although LeEco had paid back some 15 billion yuan in debt, including loans under his name, the company still did not have enough funding support.

Choosing to repay debts instead of refinancing operations had hurt the company&#39;s ability to get back on track, Jia said.

On business plans, LeEco&#39;s car unit, which Jia described as the number one source of LeEco&#39;s financial troubles is seeking to complete round-A financing and start production as soon as possible, while the company also plans to focus on strengthening its smart TV business.

LeEco is is struggling to support its goals that include beating Elon Musk's Tesla Motors in premium electric vehicle making

LeEco's cash problems are "far worse than expected" and the funds raised in recent months are unexpectedly not enough to help the Chinese technology conglomerate ride out the crunch, its chairman Jia Yueting said. LeEco, one of China's most ambitious companies that grew from a Netflix-like video website to a business empire spanning consumer electronics to cars within 13 years, is struggling to support its goals that include beating Elon Musk's Tesla Motors in premium electric vehicle making. Its billionaire founder and CEO Yueting has previously said the firm was facing a "big company disease" and battling a cash crunch after expanding at an unprecedented rate. Earlier this year, Jia thought the company had found a solution to its cash problems when Chinese property developer Sunac agreed to invest 15 billion yuan ($2.21 billion), including 9 billion yuan into LeEco's non-listed entities. "We had thought some 9 billion yuan for the non-listed units would have been able to solve all the problems, the result obviously did not meet our expectations," Jia said at the annual shareholder meeting of the group's main listed unit, Leshi Internet Information & Technology. "Since October, we took some measures and made some mistakes, but LeEco's non-listed units' finances got tighter. This is what we discovered over two-to-three months," he said, a company transcript of the meeting held in Beijing shows. LeEco will need to further consolidate its non-listed units in the next two-three months, "dispose of some fixed assets and even equity assets" in order to combat what Jia described as "a second cash crunch" from April. He added that although LeEco had paid back some 15 billion yuan in debt, including loans under his name, the company still did not have enough funding support. Choosing to repay debts instead of refinancing operations had hurt the company's ability to get back on track, Jia said. On business plans, LeEco's car unit, which Jia described as the number one source of LeEco's financial troubles is seeking to complete round-A financing and start production as soon as possible, while the company also plans to focus on strengthening its smart TV business.

Cash crunch 'far worse than expected': LeEco chairman

Chinese TV and smartphone vendor LeEco said it will cut over 300 jobs at its US&nbsp;business, amounting to almost three-quarters of its local workforce, as the cash-strapped conglomerate streamlines global operations in response to a shortage of cash.

The cuts are aimed at increasing focus on LeEco&#39;s home market and core TV set and online content business after founder Jia Yueting last year said expansion had been too quick and costly.

LeEco stretched from video streaming to TV sets, smartphones, sports and even electric vehicles in a little over a decade, employing 14,000 people globally as of late last year.

&quot;The breadth of our business model is capital intensive,&quot; LeEco said in a statement. This &quot;made it difficult in the past few months to support&quot; all its businesses.

&quot;As a result, the capital we do have will have to be highly focused resulting in a significant restructuring and streamlining of our business, operations and workforce.&quot;

Reuters earlier reported, citing a person with knowledge of the plans, that LeEco aimed to cut US&nbsp;personnel to about 60 people. That would compare with &quot;around 500&quot; when LeEco formally launched US&nbsp;operations in October.

The cuts will total 325, said Teri Daley, LeEco&#39;s general manager of communications, including high-profile &quot;leadership&quot; hires formerly at Samsung Electronics and Qualcomm.

She declined to specify the size of the remaining headcount, but said an office in San Diego, California, will close while&nbsp;its presence in Los Angeles would be downsized.

Big company disease

LeEco, headed by founder Jia, has been scaling back overseas operations, making cuts in India, selling property in Silicon Valley and pulling out of a deal to buy US&nbsp;TV maker Vizio.

Jia told reporters on Sunday the cuts were to remove low-efficiency workers, especially from non-listed businesses.

As recently as October, Jia said a planned new North American campus would be able to house 12,000 employees. But in November, he said LeEco was facing &quot;big company disease&quot; and suffering a shortage of cash.

In March, Reuters reported that LeEco had agreed to sell the land earmarked for the campus.

While the US&nbsp;cuts are part of a strategy to refocus on the Chinese market, businesses at home such as smartphones and sports could also face major cuts, said the person with knowledge of the US&nbsp;job cut plans.

&quot;They will focus more on China,&quot; the person said. &quot;If you&#39;re looking for trends to follow in the future, you&#39;ll probably see a continued focus on the TV business.&quot;

LeEco said the cuts were not the beginning of the end of its US&nbsp;ambitions, but that it would take a more &quot;phased approach&quot;.

&quot;We are committed to staying in the US,&quot; Daley said. LeEco will continue to sell TV sets and content as well as smartphones but will narrow focus to Chinese-American consumers, she said.

(Reuters)

The cuts are aimed at increasing focus on LeEco's home market and its core TV set and online content business

Chinese TV and smartphone vendor LeEco said it will cut over 300 jobs at its US business, amounting to almost three-quarters of its local workforce, as the cash-strapped conglomerate streamlines global operations in response to a shortage of cash. The cuts are aimed at increasing focus on LeEco's home market and core TV set and online content business after founder Jia Yueting last year said expansion had been too quick and costly. LeEco stretched from video streaming to TV sets, smartphones, sports and even electric vehicles in a little over a decade, employing 14,000 people globally as of late last year. "The breadth of our business model is capital intensive," LeEco said in a statement. This "made it difficult in the past few months to support" all its businesses. "As a result, the capital we do have will have to be highly focused resulting in a significant restructuring and streamlining of our business, operations and workforce." Reuters earlier reported, citing a person with knowledge of the plans, that LeEco aimed to cut US personnel to about 60 people. That would compare with "around 500" when LeEco formally launched US operations in October. The cuts will total 325, said Teri Daley, LeEco's general manager of communications, including high-profile "leadership" hires formerly at Samsung Electronics and Qualcomm. She declined to specify the size of the remaining headcount, but said an office in San Diego, California, will close while its presence in Los Angeles would be downsized. Big company disease LeEco, headed by founder Jia, has been scaling back overseas operations, making cuts in India, selling property in Silicon Valley and pulling out of a deal to buy US TV maker Vizio. Jia told reporters on Sunday the cuts were to remove low-efficiency workers, especially from non-listed businesses. As recently as October, Jia said a planned new North American campus would be able to house 12,000 employees. But in November, he said LeEco was facing "big company disease" and suffering a shortage of cash. In March, Reuters reported that LeEco had agreed to sell the land earmarked for the campus. While the US cuts are part of a strategy to refocus on the Chinese market, businesses at home such as smartphones and sports could also face major cuts, said the person with knowledge of the US job cut plans. "They will focus more on China," the person said. "If you're looking for trends to follow in the future, you'll probably see a continued focus on the TV business." LeEco said the cuts were not the beginning of the end of its US ambitions, but that it would take a more "phased approach". "We are committed to staying in the US," Daley said. LeEco will continue to sell TV sets and content as well as smartphones but will narrow focus to Chinese-American consumers, she said. (Reuters)

LeEco to cut about 70 per cent of US staff amid global pull-back

The founder of LeEco, a Chinese Netflix-to-Tesla-like conglomerate, has stepped down as the CEO of the group&#39;s main listed unit, as the company begins to streamline and cut debt after rapid expansion led to a cash crunch.

Jia Yueting, who will remain as chairman and CEO of LeEco, envisions the group maintaining its separate unlisted automotive unit but rolling all other areas of business into Leshi Internet Information &amp; Technology Corp Beijing, according to a transcript of his remarks to journalists on Sunday.

The firm has also trimmed loans by nearly half from a peak of 10 billion yuan ($1.45 billion), Jia said.

Shenzhen-listed Leshi said in a stock exchange filing that Liang Jun, a long-time Lenovo Group Ltd executive who joined Leshi in 2012, will replace Jia as chief executive officer. Leshi&#39;s finance chief Yang Linjie, who resigned for personal reasons, will also be replaced by Zhang Wei.

The restructuring comes several months after the group received a much-needed $2.2 billion investment from property developer Sunac China Holdings Ltd.

Sunac said the management change is not an attempt to take more control of Leshi, considered one of LeEco&#39;s healthiest assets. But it marks a push to bolster the streaming business operations.

&quot;There is no such thing as a fight for control,&quot; said Liu Shuqing, a Sunac-appointed director on the board of Leshi, according to the transcript of Leshi&#39;s Sunday briefing.

In a letter to all LeEco staff seen by Reuters, Jia called the two appointments as Leshi&#39;s &quot;most important milestone since its IPO in 2010&quot;, and said they were aimed at improving the listed company&#39;s performance.

Jia said in the letter his personal focus over the past two years on LeEco&#39;s non-listed businesses, which include consumer electronics and cars, had dragged down Leshi&#39;s development.

&quot;I had expressed my apologies and gratitude to investors at the end of last year and promised to refocus on our listed businesses,&quot; Jia said in the letter.

&quot;After we introduced the second-largest and strategic shareholder (Sunac), we formally initiated a major restructuring of Leshi.&quot;

Jia, who is continuing as chairman of Leshi, said he will &quot;focus on the governance, strategic planning and core product innovation&quot; of LeEco&#39;s listed units.

LeEco began with a Netflix-like video streaming service and expanded into an array of products and services. The group has been fighting a cash crunch since last year that Jia said was the result of that aggressive growth.

(Reuters)

Jia Yueting, however, who will remain as chairman and CEO of LeEco

The founder of LeEco, a Chinese Netflix-to-Tesla-like conglomerate, has stepped down as the CEO of the group's main listed unit, as the company begins to streamline and cut debt after rapid expansion led to a cash crunch. Jia Yueting, who will remain as chairman and CEO of LeEco, envisions the group maintaining its separate unlisted automotive unit but rolling all other areas of business into Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corp Beijing, according to a transcript of his remarks to journalists on Sunday. The firm has also trimmed loans by nearly half from a peak of 10 billion yuan ($1.45 billion), Jia said. Shenzhen-listed Leshi said in a stock exchange filing that Liang Jun, a long-time Lenovo Group Ltd executive who joined Leshi in 2012, will replace Jia as chief executive officer. Leshi's finance chief Yang Linjie, who resigned for personal reasons, will also be replaced by Zhang Wei. The restructuring comes several months after the group received a much-needed $2.2 billion investment from property developer Sunac China Holdings Ltd. Sunac said the management change is not an attempt to take more control of Leshi, considered one of LeEco's healthiest assets. But it marks a push to bolster the streaming business operations. "There is no such thing as a fight for control," said Liu Shuqing, a Sunac-appointed director on the board of Leshi, according to the transcript of Leshi's Sunday briefing. In a letter to all LeEco staff seen by Reuters, Jia called the two appointments as Leshi's "most important milestone since its IPO in 2010", and said they were aimed at improving the listed company's performance. Jia said in the letter his personal focus over the past two years on LeEco's non-listed businesses, which include consumer electronics and cars, had dragged down Leshi's development. "I had expressed my apologies and gratitude to investors at the end of last year and promised to refocus on our listed businesses," Jia said in the letter. "After we introduced the second-largest and strategic shareholder (Sunac), we formally initiated a major restructuring of Leshi." Jia, who is continuing as chairman of Leshi, said he will "focus on the governance, strategic planning and core product innovation" of LeEco's listed units. LeEco began with a Netflix-like video streaming service and expanded into an array of products and services. The group has been fighting a cash crunch since last year that Jia said was the result of that aggressive growth. (Reuters)

LeEco founder resigns as CEO of the company?s main listed unit

The founder of LeEco, a cash-strapped Chinese Netflix-to-Tesla-like conglomerate, has stepped down as the head of the group&#39;s main listed unit, amid a wider restructuring that seeks to isolate successful businesses from struggling operations.

A stock exchange filing from Leshi Internet Information &amp; Technology Corp Beijing, a Shenzhen-listed video-streaming business, on Sunday showed Jia Yueting will step down as chief executive officer but will remain chairman. Leshi&#39;s finance chief will also be replaced.

Succeeding Jia will be Liang Jun, a long-time Lenovo executive who joined Leshi in 2012. Zhang Wei becomes chief financial officer replacing Yang Lijie, who resigned due to personal reasons, the filing showed.

The restructuring comes several months after the group received a much-needed $2.2 billion investment from property developer Sunac China Holdings.

Sunac said the management change is not an attempt to take more control of Leshi, considered one of the healthiest assets among LeEco&#39;s expansive business empire. But it marks a push to bolster the streaming business&#39; operations.

&quot;There is no such thing as a fight for control,&quot; Liu Shuqing, a Sunac-appointed director on the board of Leshi, said at Leshi&#39;s press briefing on Sunday, according to a transcript seen by Reuters.

In a letter to all LeEco staff seen by Reuters, Jia called the two new appointments as Leshi&#39;s &quot;most important milestone since its IPO in 2010&quot;, aimed at improving the listed company&#39;s performance.

Jia said in the letter his personal focus over the past two years on LeEco&#39;s non-listed businesses, which include consumer electronics and cars, had dragged down Leshi&#39;s development.

&quot;I had expressed my apologies and gratitude to investors at the end of last year and promised to refocus on our listed businesses,&quot; Jia said in the letter.

&quot;After we introduced the second-largest and strategic shareholder (Sunac), we formally initiated a major restructuring of Leshi.&quot;

Jia, who is continuing as chairman of Leshi and remains the CEO of the bigger LeEco group, said he will &quot;focus on the governance, strategic planning and core product innovation&quot; of LeEco&#39;s listed units.

LeEco began with a Netflix-like video streaming service and expanded into an array of products and services. The group has been fighting a cash crunch since last year that Jia said was the result of that aggressive growth.

(Reuters)

He will be succeeded by Liang Jun, a long-time Lenovo executive who joined Leshi in 2012

The founder of LeEco, a cash-strapped Chinese Netflix-to-Tesla-like conglomerate, has stepped down as the head of the group's main listed unit, amid a wider restructuring that seeks to isolate successful businesses from struggling operations. A stock exchange filing from Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corp Beijing, a Shenzhen-listed video-streaming business, on Sunday showed Jia Yueting will step down as chief executive officer but will remain chairman. Leshi's finance chief will also be replaced. Succeeding Jia will be Liang Jun, a long-time Lenovo executive who joined Leshi in 2012. Zhang Wei becomes chief financial officer replacing Yang Lijie, who resigned due to personal reasons, the filing showed. The restructuring comes several months after the group received a much-needed $2.2 billion investment from property developer Sunac China Holdings. Sunac said the management change is not an attempt to take more control of Leshi, considered one of the healthiest assets among LeEco's expansive business empire. But it marks a push to bolster the streaming business' operations. "There is no such thing as a fight for control," Liu Shuqing, a Sunac-appointed director on the board of Leshi, said at Leshi's press briefing on Sunday, according to a transcript seen by Reuters. In a letter to all LeEco staff seen by Reuters, Jia called the two new appointments as Leshi's "most important milestone since its IPO in 2010", aimed at improving the listed company's performance. Jia said in the letter his personal focus over the past two years on LeEco's non-listed businesses, which include consumer electronics and cars, had dragged down Leshi's development. "I had expressed my apologies and gratitude to investors at the end of last year and promised to refocus on our listed businesses," Jia said in the letter. "After we introduced the second-largest and strategic shareholder (Sunac), we formally initiated a major restructuring of Leshi." Jia, who is continuing as chairman of Leshi and remains the CEO of the bigger LeEco group, said he will "focus on the governance, strategic planning and core product innovation" of LeEco's listed units. LeEco began with a Netflix-like video streaming service and expanded into an array of products and services. The group has been fighting a cash crunch since last year that Jia said was the result of that aggressive growth. (Reuters)

LeEco founder Jia steps down from top spot at main listed unit

Chinese tech giant LeEco led by billionaire Jia Yueting announced a deal yesterday to buy US television manufacturer Vizio for $2 billion. 
 
The deal expands the US presence for the company, formerly known as Letv, which operates a streaming television service, makes smartphones and other electronics, and has been working on research for autonomous cars. 
 
&quot;LeEco believes in breakthrough technologies, a complete ecosystem and disruptive pricing,&quot; Jia, the founder and chief executive of LeEco, said in a statement. 
 
&quot;Acquiring Vizio is an important step in our globalisation strategy and building our North American presence.&quot; 
 
He added that Vizio`s business model &quot;changed the industry and aligns with our vision of breaking boundaries to deliver consumer-focused products, software and services.&quot; 
 
Vizio, founded in California in 2002, has been a major maker of smart TVs and related products. 
 
The deal calls for Vizio`s data business called Inscape, to be spun out and operated as a separate, privately owned company. 
 
In April, LeEco announced plans for a North American headquarters in San Jose, California, dedicating a facility that can support as many as 800 employees, and which will be the home for its autonomous driving research centre. 
 
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, LeEco announced plans to rapidly expand its global footprint by entering India and the US market with technology and content offerings. 
 
Jia is estimated by Forbes magazine to have a fortune worth some $4.1 billion, making him the 22nd richest person in China. 
 
(AFP)

The deal calls for Vizio`s data business called Inscape, to be spun out and operated as a separate, privately owned company

Chinese tech giant LeEco led by billionaire Jia Yueting announced a deal yesterday to buy US television manufacturer Vizio for $2 billion. The deal expands the US presence for the company, formerly known as Letv, which operates a streaming television service, makes smartphones and other electronics, and has been working on research for autonomous cars. "LeEco believes in breakthrough technologies, a complete ecosystem and disruptive pricing," Jia, the founder and chief executive of LeEco, said in a statement. "Acquiring Vizio is an important step in our globalisation strategy and building our North American presence." He added that Vizio`s business model "changed the industry and aligns with our vision of breaking boundaries to deliver consumer-focused products, software and services." Vizio, founded in California in 2002, has been a major maker of smart TVs and related products. The deal calls for Vizio`s data business called Inscape, to be spun out and operated as a separate, privately owned company. In April, LeEco announced plans for a North American headquarters in San Jose, California, dedicating a facility that can support as many as 800 employees, and which will be the home for its autonomous driving research centre. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, LeEco announced plans to rapidly expand its global footprint by entering India and the US market with technology and content offerings. Jia is estimated by Forbes magazine to have a fortune worth some $4.1 billion, making him the 22nd richest person in China. (AFP)

Chinese tech giant LeEco to buy Vizio for $2 billion

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