LeEco Becomes Coolpad's Largest Shareholder

Chinese Internet conglomerate LeEco has purchased 11 percent more shares of telecommunications equipment company Coolpad, becoming its largest shareholder.

LeEco bought the shares from Data Dreamland, the former largest shareholder of Coolpad, for $135 million (roughly Rs. 910 crores). After the transaction, LeEco holds a total 28.9 percent of Coolpad's shares and becomes the largest shareholder of what it claims to be "China's top four domestic mobile brand."

According to the company, the integration would help Coolpad's products to align with LeEco's ecosystem model - platform, content, terminal and application.

The company said cumulative sales will see a conservative estimate is 50 million to 60 million units of smartphones in 2016, and more than 100 million phones in 2017, making it one of the biggest smartphone companies in the world.

By this April, LeEco sold more than 10 million smartphones and its second-quarter single-month sales have exceeded two million units. The company said this number is expected to be over three million in the third quarter.

This linkup would also allow the LeEco's ecosystem model to integrate with Coolpad's near-billion intelligent terminals within a very short time helping the company boost its sales in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa.

LeEco would also ingrain its ecosystem model into Coolpad's smart devices, 50 percent of which could be converted to LeEco's ecosystem-based users.

In a press statement, LeEco said, "LeEco as Coolpad's largest shareholder will not only benefit from added product research, patents, marketing and after-sales capabilities, but also allow the companies to strengthen its respective brands and change the mapping of global smartphone industry... On the strategic level, the support of Coolpad's smartphone resources will bring valuable advancement to LeEco's Superphones. The strategic stake will allow the ecosystem model to integrate with Coolpad's near-billion intelligent terminals within a very short time."