China's giant firms like Dalian Wanda have invested in Le Sports, which raised 800 million yuan in May last year. (Photo : Reuters)
Le Sports has received 8 billion yuan from investors in the second round of financing, giving the Internet-based company a significant edge over rivals, China Daily reported.
After the latest round of financing, Le Sports is now valued at 21.5 billion yuan, Jia Yueting, CEO and chairman of parent company LeEco Holdings Ltd., said on Sunday, March 27.
According to the report, the latest cash injection came from investors which include HNA Capital Group Co., the investment unit of Chinese airline giant HNA Group Co. Ltd., and several individual investors such as Sun Honglei, a famous actor in China.
As the company is making efforts to integrate resources from various industries, Jia said the latest round was in "recognition of our broad plan to build an ecosystem, which spans sports, video streaming, electric vehicles and smartphones."
A statement released by the company said that the new cash will be used to develop a new smart equipment for fitness as well as to enhance its sports-related online content. However, details about how the latest investment would affect LeEco's majority ownership of Le Sports were not divulged.
One of the fastest-growing companies in China's sports sector, Le Sports established itself as an independent unit from LeEco's video-streaming service two years ago. In May, investors that included Wanda Investment Co. helped the company raise 800 million yuan.
China's sports sector has been gaining favorable policies from the central government, driving the country's Internet giants to branch into the industry.
Through investment and partnerships, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. have reportedly expanded their presence in the sports sector.
The latest funding showed that investors are confident in Le Sports, Jiang Qian, an analyst at Beijing-based Internet consultancy Analysys International, said.
"Le Sports has won exclusive online broadcasting rights to a series of top-tier competitions in recent years, which is a strong proof of the company's marketing and organizing capabilities," Jiang said.
In February, Le Sports won the broadcasting rights of the English Premier League and the National Football League in the United States, after spending 2.7 billion yuan to become the exclusive online broadcasting partner of Chinese Super League, the country's top soccer event.
"Its abundant sports content is the biggest advantage of Le Sports, from which the company can build a sizable user base and offer other services such as selling sports game tickets and lotteries," Jiang added.
