Billionaire LeEco Founder Turns to Cars as Debtors Close In
LeEco Chairman Jia Yueting asked for more time to repay debt and realize his ambitions of disrupting the automobile industry, days after a Chinese court froze billions of dollars in assets he controlled.
The increasingly beleaguered tycoon, who built his sprawling tech conglomerate on a Netflix-like streaming service and smart TVs, on Thursday resigned as chairman of his main listed company in favor of leading LeEco’s fledgling automobiles division. The move allows Jia to devote his time to cars and in particular to Faraday Future, the U.S.-based startup he personally backs that’s trying to raise funds to bring the FF91 electric car to fruition.
Jia, who had quit as chief executive officer of TV and media giant Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corp., will now step down from the board, the company said in an exchange filing. Jia’s grip on LeEco itself, which he once portrayed as superior to Tesla Inc. and Apple Inc., has slipped after expensive forays into cars and smartphones that stretched its balance sheet. The entrepreneur told shareholders last week the cash shortage afflicting the conglomerate had worsened in past months, accepting blame for pushing too fast into those areas.
