Chinese tech behemoth LeEco has managed to raise a massive $2.2 Billion in funding from a slew of new investors. The list of new investors include Tianjin Jiarui Huixin Corporate Management Company and property developer Sunac China Holding. The information comes from a stock filing made by LeEco on Thursday.
The latest fund-raising is a godsend for LeEco, which was facing a severe cash crunch thanks to an extreme spree of expansion it embarked on last year. In November, founder Jia Yueting admitted as much when he said that his company was facing a shortage of cash. True, the Chinese firm is involved in everything ranging from cars to smartphones, however, investments take time to mature and LeEco had started winding up several operations to sustain itself.
Meanwhile, the latest investments will be used to pick up and bolster Leshi Internet Information, the company’s smart internet TV subsidiary Leshi Zhixin and its film production subsidiary Le Vision Pictures.
LeEco’s last investment came in November, when it raised $600 from local investors. Interestingly, LeEco also announced that it had managed to sort out an industry competition issue involving Jia Yueting and his wife, Gan Wei. Wei had founded and holds a substantial stake in the Chinese web TV and film firm Le Young Pictures. The issue lay in the fact that Wei’s firm could rival LeEco as well.
To make sure that all regulations are complied with, Leshi said that it was purchasing Wei’s 47.8 percent stake in Le Young Pictures.
Finally, Leshi vice president Han Fangming is resigning from the company’s board of directors. A new director representing the interests of the new investors will be joining the board instead.
The investment also bodes well for Faraday Future, which has LeEco has its main investor and which has been affected by the company’s fortunes. The Chinese behemoth did unveil its own electric car, but it continues to have interests in Faraday Future. Let’s see if the company reaches sustainability before it manages to spend this money as well.
