LeEco has graced the headlines quite a lot recently, but not all of those headlines have been positive. This latest headline for LeEco may come in the form of a blessing, rather than a curse, if critics of the original deal are to be believed. Last summer LeEco announced that it would be buying TV manufacturing giant Vizio for a large sum of about $2 billion USD. Given LeEco is relatively unheard of outside China, and the fact that their TVs and other products and services are still selling like gangbusters over in China, critics of the deal said it would be better if the whole thing just fell through.
Now it looks like those critics might be getting their wish, with sources saying that problems with the deal are twofold. First off China is actively limiting capital spending outside of their home country, and it’s likely that the buyout of Vizio, who is headquartered in Irvine, California, may be tripping the deal up quite a bit. LeEco’s financial situation is no secret, citing mainly that they’ve expanded too fast and haven’t been able to keep finances in the black for all of its divisions. LeEco launched its brand in the US in Fall of last year, and since then have had some issues with establishing its name among the masses of electronics out there.
LeEco’s foray into the world of electric cars may have also run aground as well, as the company is reportedly selling the plot of land it purchased in Silicon Valley for its electric car manufacturing plant. LeEco has since secured new financing that is supposed to help its business operations in completing their goals for 2017, which as recently as last month still included the acquisition of Vizio. Whether or not this is all true is to be seen, but it certainly fits in with what’s been going on at the company in recent history. LeEco’s hopes aren’t dashed yet though, as its also rumored a number of new phones will be hitting the market in the near future, some of which may also make landfall in the US.