Vizio files $100 million lawsuit against LeEco for not honoring the purchase agreement

Vizio, a US-based smart consumer durable maker, has filed a $100 million lawsuit against the Chinese consumer durables startup LeEco for not honoring its deal of acquiring Vizio for $2 billion. Allegedly the deal, which fell through amid myriad problems surrounding LeEco, included a $100 million buyer-termination fee which Vizio wants to now collect. The startup claims that in lieu of paying Vizio the fee, the Chinese company offered to set up a joint distribution deal, which would have included paying Vizio $40 million up front, $10 million after the new deal closed with the remaining $50 million turned into a capital contribution for the joint venture.

The lawsuit alleges that LeEco’s CEO, SVP of Finance and a director of LeEco’s holding company mislead Vizio executives on the health of LeEco’s holding company. It also adds that these executives, in person, over the phone and through email, mischaracterized the company’s financials, saying that LeEco needed to complete this merger to “either obtain the instant financial stability, credibility and resources.”

The development comes days after a Shanghai court froze $180 million in assets belong to the LeEco founder and former CEO, his wife and three LeEco affiliates.