How a USD 3.3 billion LeSports fell apart
A look back at LeSports’ five-year history amid its parent company LeEco’s volatile instability.
LeSports, Chinese tech giant LeEco’s sports arm, on Thursday was rumored to cut its workforce to 200 from its current 700-strong workforce.
This is the latest sign that LeSports is undergoing a series of setbacks including losing key management executives and broadcasting rights of international games. Here is a look back at LeSports’ short five-year history during LeEco’s volatile development.
Below is the visualization of the winding path of LeSports.
· 2012 — LeEco launched its sports arm LeSports to offer broadcasting and live streaming services for sports games including soccer, basketball, and tennis.
· December 2015 — LeSports signs a five-year contract for naming rights to name Wukesong Gymnasium, one of Beijing’s landmarks and China’s top-notch stadiums.
· February 2016 — Purchased copyrights for the Chinese Super League during the 2016/2017 season for RMB 2.7 billion (USD 392 million).
· April 2016 — LeSports raised RMB 8 billion (USD 1.2 billion) in its Series B financing round led by Chinese aviation and shipping conglomerate HNA Group.
· November 2016 — LeEco founder and CEO Jia Yueting sent a letter to LeEco employees, admitting LeEco’s “extremely quick expansion and great capital challenges”.
· January 2017 — LeEco lands USD 2.4 billion investment from Sunac China and becomes its second largest shareholder.
· March 2017 — LeSports COO Yu Hang stepped down.
· March 2017 — Loses copyrights for a series of major sports games including Chinese Super League and Asian Football Confederation.
· April 2017 — Sunac China founder Sun Hongbin denounced LeSports’ purchase of Chinese Super League and said that “LeSports lost RMB 1.3 billion for its RMB 1.35 billion annual fee [for purchasing copyrights of the Chinese Super League].”
· May 16 — LeSports stops sponsoring naming rights for Wukesong Gymnasium in Beijing.
· May 18 — LeSports is rumored to have a massive layoff, and only 200 from its current 700 staff will remain. Hopefully, LeSports will be able to develop sustainable profit models after stopping its cash burning businesses.
Read also: What led tech giant LeEco into troubled waters
(Top photo from Lesports.com)
