LeEco to buy US budget TV maker for $2bn

China-based technology group LeEco said on Tuesday it has struck an agreement to buy California-headquartered Vizio in the latest sign of the Asian country’s appetite for western groups, the Financial Times reports. LeEco, a video streaming service provider that is commonly referred to as the “Netflix of China,” said it would pay $2bn for Vizio, which makes smart televisions, speakers and other home entertainment hardware. The company’s hardware and software businesses will become subsidiaries of LeEco, while Vizio’s data business, Inscape, will be spun out into a separate, privately-owned company. “Acquiring VIZIO is an important step in our globalization strategy and building our North American presence,” said YT Jia, LeEco’s founder and chief executive.