China’s LeEco to buy U.S. electronics company Vizio for $2 billion

(Reuters) — China’s Le Holdings Co, also known as LeEco, said on Tuesday it would buy U.S. consumer electronics company Vizio for $2 billion.

Irvine, California-based Vizio makes affordable flat screen televisions, soundbars and LCD monitors. Founded in 2002, the company is now one of the largest manufacturers of TV sets in the United States.

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Vizio, which filed for an initial public offering last year, generated sales of $1.3 billion in the first six months of 2015, according to IPO documents.

Vizio’s hardware and software units will be operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of LeEco. The company’s Inscape TV viewership data business will be spun out as a privately owned company, LeEco said.

Founded in 2004, LeEco started selling smartphones in China in April last year. Earlier this year, the company unveiled an all-electric battery concept car.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch advised Vizio on the deal, while Latham & Watkins LLP was the legal counsel. The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter.

(Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)