<article>LeEco Global Ltd. agreed to acquire Vizio Inc. for $2 billion as the Chinese technology conglomerate expands further in the U.S.</article>

LeEco Global Ltd. agreed to acquire Vizio Inc. for $2 billion as the Chinese technology conglomerate expands further in the U.S.
LeEco, affiliated with publicly-traded Leshi Internet Information &amp; Technology Corp., will acquire all Vizio’s hardware and software operations, technology and intellectual property, according to a company statement Tuesday.
Billionaire Chairman and Founder Jia Yueting has sprawling ambitions for LeEco, positioning it as the Netflix, Apple and Tesla of China. In addition to the online video business, LeEco has made inroads into smartphones, TVs, virtual reality headsets, and electric vehicles.
&#8220;LeEco is the world’s only company that goes across four different smart devices including TV, phone, car, and VR,&#8221; Jia said in a webcast Tuesday. &#8220;Through this acquisition, LeEco has a solid foundation for its globalization strategy. We will add more global users to get to know the brand and our product experience.&#8221;
The company has been expanding outside China already. Earlier this year, it established an 80,000 square foot North American headquarters in San Jose, California. Jia’s Faraday Future has lured staff from Ferrari and BMW and is trying to line up financing to build a $1 billion electric auto plant in North Las Vegas.
The deal with Vizio cements the Chinese company’s commitment to U.S. expansion, and the plan is to list privately-held LeEco in the U.S. three to four years down the road, said Winston Cheng, senior vice president of global corporate finance and development, in an interview.
Vizio, a maker of inexpensive flat-screen TVs, will continue to operate at its Irvine, California headquarters, according to the statement. William Wang, Chief Executive Officer of Vizio, will become chairman and CEO of Inscape.
The hardware and software business will be operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of LeEco, while the Vizio data business, Inscape Data Services, will be spun off and operate as a separate, privately owned company.
Vizio has also delved into other areas of consumer electronics such as computers, smartphones and tablets. Bloomberg News reported last year that the company was pursuing an initial public offering.  Matthew McRae, chief technology officer of Vizio, said in an interview Tuesday that as more information became public in the process of preparing for the initial public offering, more opportunities arose, including the offer from LeEco.
<h4>Bloomberg</h4>

LeEco Global Ltd. agreed to acquire Vizio Inc. for $2 billion as the Chinese technology conglomerate expands further in the U.S.

Chinese internet company LeEco acquires US-based Vizio for $2b

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Chinese internet company LeEco acquires US-based Vizio for $2b

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