Watch out Samsung! China's LeEco is coming for you with Vizio buyout

[onebyone]

Image: raymond wong/mashable
By Raymond Wong19 hours ago

If you've never heard of LeEco, now is a good time to become familiar with it.

The Chinese company that has been called the "Netflix of China" has a foothold in multiple industries such as video streaming, consumer electronics and automobiles. And in a joint announcement Tuesday, LeEco said it would acquire Vizio for $2 billion.

SEE ALSO: Vizio Wins 4K at CES With 120-Inch TV, $999 Model

The transaction is expected to close by the end of the fourth quarter, with LeEco gaining 100 percent ownership of the TV and audio company as a fully-owned subsidiary.

William Wang, founder and CEO of Vizio, will become the chairman and CEO of Inscape, the technology built into Vizio TVs that collects anonymized viewer data in real time, which will be spun off as a private company. Wang will get 51 percent ownership of Inscape, and LeEco the remaining 49 percent.

With the acquisition, LeEco will expand its reach beyond China and into the North American market. The buyout will allow LeEco to become a global company with the prowess to compete with the likes of Samsung, Apple and even Tesla.

Wang launched the company in 2002 with only $600,000 and a dream to build the best HDTV at the most affordable price.

With Vizio under LeEco, the Chinese company is in a unique position to offer its "Le Ecosystem" comprised of hardware, software, content, and applications, the four key pillars it has identified as crucial to breaking into markets beyond China.

Wang launched the company in 2002 with only $600,000 and a dream to build the best HDTV at the most affordable price.

Vizio's internet-connected TVs are frequently recognized for offering excellent image quality and features at an incredible price. The Wirecutter, a shopping guide website, that maintains a list of the best gadgets, lists the company's M-series 4K TVs as its pick for the second-best 4K TV you can buy right now.

Earlier this year, Vizio rolled out its most ambitious TVs yet with built-in Google Cast.

In the 14 years since, Vizio has grown into a business worth over $3 billion in yearly revenue, with annual growth every year in the last decade.

Vizio has sold over 70 million devices including TVs, sound bars and other devices (such as its short-lived laptops and PCs).

Winston Cheng, LeEco’s global head of corporate finance and development, said the acquisition will give the company access to over 28 million connected TVs installed worldwide. Eight million of those units will come from Vizio.

The deal will also give LeEco access to over 700 million monthly active users, who the company will be able to leverage as it promotes its video streaming services and devices such as internet-connected TVs, smartphones, VR and cars.

http://mashable.com/2016/07/26/china-leeco-buys-vizio/#9H5v8o9DHOqV

 

[jhungary]

You do know Vizio does not have that much share in LCD TV market, right? Last time I check it was less than 15% share in the US, and less than 4% in the world.

VIzio is honestly a dying brand in the US, I think that's why it was sold to the Chinese for 2 billions dollars (and 2 billions dollars Is not exactly a large number to be honest...). I think even TCL have more market share than Vizio..........

http://www.cnet.com/news/samsung-and-lg-dominate-lcd-tv-shipments-for-2014/#!



Samsung + LG + Sony have more than 70% share of world LCD/LED TV Market

 

[cirr]

So you think your OPINION is worth 2 billion US dollars? Pls stop kidding yourself.

Anyhow, the LeECO name is spreading like a wild fire that has made its shareholders extremely happy, at least for now.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

You do know Vizio does not have that much share in LCD TV market, right? Last time I check it was less than 15% share in the US, and less than 4% in the world.

VIzio is honestly a dying brand in the US, I think that's why it was sold to the Chinese for 2 billions dollars (and 2 billions dollars Is not exactly a large number to be honest...). I think even TCL have more market share than Vizio..........

http://www.cnet.com/news/samsung-and-lg-dominate-lcd-tv-shipments-for-2014/#!



Samsung + LG + Sony have more than 70% share of world LCD/LED TV Market

I have to agree. Vizio is seen as a sort of bargain Walmart TV.
Nobody rushes out to buy a Vizio.

 

[TaiShang]

Looks like Vizio's global market share has grown over the past three years.

http://www.statista.com/statistics/267095/global-market-share-of-lcd-tv-manufacturers/

So you think your OPINION is worth 2 billion US dollars? Pls stop kidding yourself.

Anyhow, the LeECO name is spreading like a wild fire that has made its shareholders extremely happy, at least for now.

I guess with the new ownership, the Vizio brand will have greater global exposure. LeECO is famous for its aggressive marketing.

One thing is for sure that Vizio brand will be managed more professionally under a better ownership.

 

[cirr]

Looks like Vizio's global market share has grown over the past three years.

http://www.statista.com/statistics/267095/global-market-share-of-lcd-tv-manufacturers/



I guess with the new ownership, the Vizio brand will have greater global exposure. LeECO is famous for its aggressive marketing.

One thing is for sure that Vizio brand will be managed more professionally under a better ownership.

The acquisitive LeEco is apparently determined to buy itself into a 100 billion USD company as soon as possible.

I won't be the slightest surpised to see LeEco included in the Fortune 500(or whatever) in a couple of years.

 

[jhungary]

I have to agree. Vizio is seen as a sort of bargain Walmart TV.
Nobody rushes out to buy a Vizio.

lol, it's fun to look at a bunch of people who never even know what is Vizio and start jumping up and down to their so called "Challenge" to the big name Samsung......

Saying this is like some Chinese Supermarket Chain bought CVS and try to railroading Walmart out of business.

Vizio is low end TV market, it's 2 to 3 generation behind the Samsung and LG alike, the problem is that, the Vizio main competition is, well, you guessed it, brand like Soniq, TCL, or other low end Chinese Brand, acquiring Vizio would simply mean one more Chinese Low end brand are now entering into the competition, it meant nothing to the giants like Smasung or LG.

I don't even know if there is any real competition to Sony (currently at 16.4% world Share) if all the Chinese brand amalgam into one brand? Maybe? I don't know.

So you think your OPINION is worth 2 billion US dollars? Pls stop kidding yourself.

Anyhow, the LeECO name is spreading like a wild fire that has made its shareholders extremely happy, at least for now.

Do you even know how what Vizio brand being sold in America before you even opening your mouth?? 2 billions is less than what Samsung put into developing OLED technology.....

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-samsung-display-investment-oled-idUSKBN0LF00R20150211

I am not even talking about newer tech like quantum dot technology.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

lol, it's fun to look at a bunch of people who never even know what is Vizio and start jumping up and down to their so called "Challenge" to the big name Samsung......

Saying this is like some Chinese Supermarket Chain bought CVS and try to railroading Walmart out of business.

Vizio is low end TV market, it's 2 to 3 generation behind the Samsung and LG alike, the problem is that, the Vizio main competition is, well, you guessed it, brand like Soniq, TCL, or other low end Chinese Brand, acquiring Vizio would simply mean one more Chinese Low end brand are now entering into the competition, it meant nothing to the giants like Smasung or LG.

I don't even know if there is any real competition to Sony (currently at 16.4% world Share) if all the Chinese brand amalgam into one brand? Maybe? I don't know.



Do you even know how what Vizio brand being sold in America before you even opening your mouth?? 2 billions is less than what Samsung put into developing OLED technology.....

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-samsung-display-investment-oled-idUSKBN0LF00R20150211

I am not even talking about newer tech like quantum dot technology.

Vizio is definitely behind in tech but because of their cheap price they do sell. If a parent wants a cheap TV to put in a little kids room (where it may get destroyed) they aren't go to buy a nice Samsung. Probably popular with the poor college student dorm rooms too. I think of it like Dollar Tree store shopping for paper cups for a party..you don't expect quality..but it is throw away anyway.

 

[jhungary]

Vizio is definitely behind in tech but because of their cheap price they do sell. If a parent wants a cheap TV to put in a kids room (where it may get destroyed) they aren't go to buy a nice Samsung. Probably popular with the poor college student dorm rooms too. I think of it like Dollar Tree store shopping for paper cups for a party..you don't expect quality..but it is throw away anyway.

well, true, but still, it is not as high end as Samsung or LG TV, the problem is, if my folks want to buy me a TV when I was still in college, they would probably buy me an older generation Samsung or LG (Like Series 5 or 6), well, they are as cheap, and you know they have some degree of built quality.

Cheap TVs from these brand are quite popular in places like doctor office or shops, the type that usually have a waiting room, they are there for people to kill time while they wait, and because they are dirt cheap, you can replace them with ease, and at the same time would be a good tax write off.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

well, true, but still, it is not as high end as Samsung or LG TV, the problem is, if my folks want to buy me a TV when I was still in college, they would probably buy me an older generation Samsung or LG (Like Series 5 or 6), well, they are as cheap, and you know they have some degree of built quality.

Cheap TVs from these brand are quite popular in places like doctor office or shops, the type that usually have a waiting room, they are there for people to kill time while they wait, and because they are dirt cheap, you can replace them with ease, and at the same time would be a good tax write off.

Well it's more of getting their feet in the door with a brand name tv that has a custom Netflix type ability built into it. They may get a tiny niche like Apple TV. But Netflix is more widely available. Certainly if they make it hard to watch on Vizios that is going to hurt their marketshare.

Note the Netflix logo on Vizio TVs (pretty much all TVs these days). Will they remove it?

 

[dingyibvs]

I spent months researching TVs before purchasing a Vizio TV last year. I suggest you guys go behind the marketing and actually do some research. It's not just yet another cheap TV brand, the functionalities and picture quality of Vizio TVs are just a slight step below mainstream leaders (not talking about those niche, super expensive sets) but at half the price. The price to performance ratio is simply unmatched. It just lacks the capital to take the next step, and has been stuck at a step behind for a couple of years now. With LeEco's deep pockets, I think the likes of Sony and Samsung better watch out. Something similar is already playing out in the smartphone arena with Apple and Samsung coming under fire from Chinese upstarts.

 

[Jlaw]

I spent months researching TVs before purchasing a Vizio TV last year. I suggest you guys go behind the marketing and actually do some research. It's not just yet another cheap TV brand, the functionalities and picture quality of Vizio TVs are just a slight step below mainstream leaders (not talking about those niche, super expensive sets) but at half the price. The price to performance ratio is simply unmatched. It just lacks the capital to take the next step, and has been stuck at a step behind for a couple of years now. With LeEco's deep pockets, I think the likes of Sony and Samsung better watch out. Something similar is already playing out in the smartphone arena with Apple and Samsung coming under fire from Chinese upstarts.

You have to understand N American buying patterns. People here are more brand loyal than anywhere else except HK.

It's all about functionality, price and marketing.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

I spent months researching TVs before purchasing a Vizio TV last year. I suggest you guys go behind the marketing and actually do some research. It's not just yet another cheap TV brand, the functionalities and picture quality of Vizio TVs are just a slight step below mainstream leaders (not talking about those niche, super expensive sets) but at half the price. The price to performance ratio is simply unmatched. It just lacks the capital to take the next step, and has been stuck at a step behind for a couple of years now. With LeEco's deep pockets, I think the likes of Sony and Samsung better watch out. Something similar is already playing out in the smartphone arena with Apple and Samsung coming under fire from Chinese upstarts.

JD Power just released a ranking a few days ago

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...50-inches-jd-power-study-finds-300305236.html

50-Inch or Larger TV Segment



Overall Customer Satisfaction Index Scores


J.D. Power.com Power Circle Ratings

(Based on a 1,000-point scale)

Samsung
LG Electronics
Sony
Emerson
Sharp
Vizio

 

[Jlaw]

JD Power just released a ranking a few days ago

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...50-inches-jd-power-study-finds-300305236.html

50-Inch or Larger TV Segment



Overall Customer Satisfaction Index Scores


J.D. Power.com Power Circle Ratings

(Based on a 1,000-point scale)

Samsung
LG Electronics
Sony
Emerson
Sharp
Vizio

OH no, not the JD Power rating! People laugh at this. You can trick the mainland Chinese with JD Power but not a Canadian Chinese lol

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

OH no, not the JD Power rating! People laugh at this. You can trick the mainland Chinese with JD Power but not a Canadian Chinese lol

So which way do you find the best...Walmart user ratings?