LeEco axes acquisition of Vizio

Source: Xinhua | 2017-04-12

LEECO has abandoned its US$2 billion acquisition of US-based TV maker Vizio, a deal which is expected to help the Chinese firm out of a cash crunch.

LeEco, whose business ranges from online video, smartphones, TVs to electric vehicles, has faced financial troubles due to its aggressive expansion at a “too rapid” pace, its founder and Chairman Jia Yueting said yesterday.

LeEco confirmed the acquisition of Vizio, the No. 2 TV vendor in the US market, was off but it declined to provide further details yesterday. The Vizio acquisition, announced in July, marked LeEco’s overseas expansion.

Also yesterday, its Shenzhen-listed subsidiary Leshi posted nearly flat first-quarter net profit compared with a year ago.

The company’s estimated first-quarter profit was 103-132 million yuan, compared with 109 million yuan a year earlier, Leshi said in a statement.