Vizio Bought For $2 Billion By Chinese Tech Firm LeEco

LeEco made headlines Tuesday after agreeing to buy Irvine -based TV brand Vizio Inc for $2 billion. The purchase is LeEco's first step in globalizing the business in an attempt to compete with the North American market.

LeEco is a Chinese tech giant, known for making smartphones, and also has ambitious plans to enter the self-driving electric car market. The move gives LeEco a presence in North America, as it has been little known outside of Asia prior to the buyout.

"LeEco believes in breakthrough technologies, a complete ecosystem and disruptive pricing. Acquiring VIZIO is an important step in our globalization strategy and building our North American presence," LeEco founder and CEO Jia Yueting said in a statement.

LeEco is known as the Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) of China, and operates a streaming video service, as well as a smart TV business in China. The deal could integrate its streaming services directly into Vizio TV's to compete with Netflix.

Vizio was set to launch IPO before the buyout was announced. It has yearly revenue of $3 billion, but posted small profits.