Cash-strapped Chinese tech firm LeEco secured a $2.2 billion investment from a group led by property developer Sunac China Holdings, but shares in the rescuer plunged Monday on news of the deal. Hong Kong-listed Sunac said Friday it would plough 15.04 billion yuan into the sprawling LeEco empire, which has interests in various sectors including self-driving cars, smartphones, film making, and TV-set manufacturing.
Its diverse ventures pit the company against Apple, Netflix, and Tesla and home-grown Chinese champions Baidu, Tencent, and Alibaba. But the company's relentless expansion has put a strain on its cash flow, and in November billionaire founder Jia Yueting told employees the company grew too quickly and was short of funds.
Shares in its Shenzhen-listed LeShi affiliate dived more than 36 percent last year and in December were suspended from trading before restarting Monday.
It ended down 1.12 percent at 35.40 yuan in Shenzhen.