Still No Update on Vizio Buy, as LeEco Shows Off 2017 Products at Pepcom

LeEco spotlighted its quartet of 2017 LED-backlit LCD TVs at Pepcom in New York Thursday, but David Naranjo, senior director-product management, was mum about the status of the company’s buy of Vizio and how the two brands would coexist if and when the sale goes through. When LeEco in July announced plans to buy Vizio for $2 billion (see 1607260066), the companies expected the deal to close within six months. In February, LeEco spokesman Greg Belloni told us the deal review was still in the works but he didn’t have a completion date (see 1702070056). On Friday, Belloni emailed us there was no news to report on the deal. LeEco did raise $2.2 billion in capital late last month and planned to use part of that to buy film production company Le Young Pictures, according to published reports. On the TV side, LeEco’s topline uMax85 TV has jumped back up to its minimum advertised price of $5,499 after launching with an instant rebate that started it out of the gate at $3,999. The $4,000 price tag was a combination “promotional price + flash sale instant rebate” at launch, Belloni said. The 85-incher is LeEco’s sole Dolby Vision TV, Naranjo said, and offers HDR10 as well. LeEco's 43-inch ($549), 55-inch ($799) and 65-inch ($1,199) TVs have HDR10, Naranjo said. He couldn’t comment on the company’s plans for OLED. LeEco also showed its unlocked S3 ($199) and Pro3 ($349) Android smartphones at Pepcom.