Le Sports Valuation, Funding & Investors

Le Sports is valued at $3.1B as of March 2016.

Last Le Sports valuation

$3.1B

Series B · Mar 2016

Last Le Sports funding round

$1.2B

Series B · Mar 2016

Cumulative funding Le Sports raised

$1.4B

across 2 funding rounds

Key investors in Le Sports

  • YF Capital
  • CICC Capital
  • WANDA Group
  • Fortune Link
  • Prometheus Capital
  • HNA Group

Le Sports Overview

About Le Sports

Le Sports is a Chinese sports media and internet company, known as LeSports and in Chinese as Leshi Tiyu, that was the sports arm of Beijing-based internet group LeEco. Established in 2014 as Letv Sports Culture Develop Ltd., it built a sports ecosystem combining online streaming of sports content, event operations, smart hardware and sports services. It held streaming rights including Premier League rights for Hong Kong, and became title sponsor of Beijing's Wukesong Culture and Sports Center in 2016. It earned revenue from paid memberships and advertising around its content, and planned consumer products including betting, lotteries, ticketing, e-commerce and gaming, along with devices such as the Le Super Bike. It first raised RMB 800 million in a Series A round at a RMB 2.8 billion valuation. In April 2016 it completed a RMB 8 billion (about $1.2 billion) Series B round at a RMB 21.5 billion valuation, then the largest raise by an internet sports company, with investors including HNA Capital and Caissa Touristic. Lei Zhenjian was its founder and chief executive; parent Le.com held a 10.34% stake.


Founded

2014

HQ

ChinaBeijing

Status

Privately held

Customer focus

B2C

Revenue model

Subscription, Advertising

Valuation

$3.1B (Mar 2016)

Le Sports Valuation

Le Sports is currently valued at $3.1B, based on its Series B in March 2016.

The $1.2B round was led by HNA Group, with participation from Xinpai Capital, CICC Capital, Caissa Tosun Development, Zhongtai Securities and China Construction Bank.

Le Sports' valuation has grown 6.9x from $451M at its Series A in May 2015 to $3.1B in March 2016, across 2 priced rounds.

Le Sports valuation by funding round

Le Sports valuation by funding round
DateStageValuation
Mar 2016Series B$3.1B
May 2015Series A$451M

Le Sports Funding History

Le Sports has raised a total of $1.4B across 2 funding rounds.

Le Sports' first fundraising round was a $129M Series A in May 2015. The most recent completed round was a $1.2B Series B in March 2016.

Le Sports funding rounds

Le Sports funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsRaisedValuationDeal Summary
Mar 2016Series BHNA Group (lead); Xinpai Capital; CICC Capital; Caissa Tosun Development; Zhongtai Securities; China Construction Bank$1.2B$3.1BLe Sports, the sports arm of Chinese internet company LeEco, completed its Series B funding round in late March 2016, raising RMB 8 billion (approximately $1.23 billion) led by HNA Capital (part of HNA Group), with participation from over 30 investors including Caissa Tosun Development, Zhongtai Securities, CICC Capital, celebrities like Sun Honglei, Jia Nailiang, and Liu Tao. The round valued the company at RMB 21.5 billion, up from RMB 2.8 billion pre-Series A in May 2015 and following a Series A raise of RMB 800 million. Investors formed a steering committee for strategic oversight amid LeEco's cash challenges, with funds aimed at acquiring sports media rights (e.g., Chinese Super League for RMB 2.7 billion, English Premier League, NFL), developing smart products, and expanding operations like partnerships in Beijing sports centers and potential stakes in teams like Beijing Guoan F.C. One report noted a pre-money valuation of RMB 13.5 billion ahead of a targeted RMB 7 billion raise, aligning with the final post-money figure. Le Sports focused on building a sports ecosystem combining content streaming, events, and internet services, capitalizing on China's growing sports industry (0.64% of GDP in 2014) amid investments from Alibaba and Tencent.
May 2015Series AWANDA Group (lead); YF Capital (lead); Jianqing Wang; Prometheus Capital; Fortune Link$129M$451M-

Who has invested in Le Sports?

11 investors have backed Le Sports across its funding rounds, including YF Capital, CICC Capital, WANDA Group, Fortune Link, Prometheus Capital and HNA Group.

Lead investors include HNA Group, WANDA Group and YF Capital.


Le Sports Investors

Investors in Le Sports by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check
YF CapitalChinaShanghai1LeadMay 2015
Xinpai CapitalJapanChina1ParticipantMar 2016
Jianqing WangChinaBeijing1ParticipantMay 2015
CICC CapitalChinaBeijing1ParticipantMar 2016
Prometheus CapitalChinaBeijing1ParticipantMay 2015
Caissa Tosun DevelopmentChinaChaoyang1ParticipantMar 2016
Zhongtai SecuritiesChinaJinan1ParticipantMar 2016
HNA GroupChinaHaikou1LeadMar 2016
China Construction BankHong KongBeijing1ParticipantMar 2016

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Acquisitions by Le Sports

Le Sports has acquired 2 companies to date.

Last acquisition by Le Sports was on January 28th 2016. Le Sports acquired Octopus TV for $46M.


Latest Acquisitions by Le Sports

Octopus TV
Sodasoccer
Description
Octopus TV is a video management platform for secure storage and multi-device delivery of broadcast content. OctopusMT encodes in AVC/HEVC, DRM-protects streams, and CDN-distributes globally via Akamai. London-headquartered since 2008, it serves media companies like BBC and Sky.
Sodasoccer (搜达足球) is a Chinese football-data company based in Beijing, operated by Beijing Qiuzhiyi Data Co., Ltd. It was founded in 2004 by Han Qingshan, a Beijing Normal University geography graduate who had studied environmental engineering at Sweden's Luleå University, to supply professional data on Chinese league football. From 2005 it held the China agency for Opta and sold match data to media clients including Sina, Sohu, Tencent, CCTV and SMG, and in 2012 it launched a Chinese Super League data product with Opta. It also prepared analysis for CCTV-5 programming and signed data agreements with Guangzhou Evergrande, Beijing Guoan and the marketing company of the national teams. Revenue came mainly from selling data feeds and interfaces to broadcasters and web portals, alongside social-media content, amateur leagues and youth-training activities. In January 2016 LeTV Sports (Le Sports) invested RMB 39.2 million for a 56% controlling stake; Sodasoccer kept operating independently, began collecting Chinese Super League data itself and had a team of about 50 people.
HQ CountryAustraliaChina
HQ City
Sydney
Beijing
Deal Date28 Jan 201627 Jan 2016
Valuation$46M$10M
EV/Revenue
EV/EBITDA

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Investments by Le Sports

Le Sports has invested in 2 companies to date.

Latest investment by Le Sports was on May 9th 2016. Le Sports invested in 17 Media in their $23M Series B round.


Latest Investments by Le Sports

17 Media
Zhangyu
Description
17 Media is a Taiwanese live-streaming entertainment platform founded in 2015, operating as one of the largest live broadcasting services in Asia. The platform enables content creators to broadcast live content across music, gaming, and lifestyle categories, monetizing through virtual gifting and subscription services. With over 50 million users globally, the company holds leading market positions in Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Operates as LIVIT in English-speaking markets and expanded through acquisitions including MEME Live in Southeast Asia and HandsUp live e-commerce platform.
Zhangyu is a Chinese sports media platform streaming live events and content via zhangyu.tv, covering football, basketball, and esports for domestic audiences.
HQ CountryTaiwanChina
HQ City
-
Qingdao
Deal Date9 May 201625 Feb 2016
RoundSeries BSeries B
Raised$23M$10M
Investors--
Valuationundisclosedundisclosed
EV/Revenue
EV/EBITDA

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Le Sports Competitors

Le Sports competitors include listed companies like Saregama India and FuboTV, and private ones like OneFootball, Suning Sports, Vidio and Dadi Cinema.

Public and private companies comparable to Le Sports
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
OneFootballGermanyBerlinPrivate--$1B-
Suning SportsChinaNanjingPrivate--$2.6B-
VidioIndonesiaJakartaPrivate--$945M-
Dadi CinemaChinaGuangzhouPrivate--$2.9B-
Saregama IndiaIndiaIndiaPublicly listed$100M$36M$1.1B9.4x
FuboTVUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$1.6B($122M)$832M0.5x

Le Sports Public Comps

Le Sports is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Atlanta Braves Holdings, Sportradar, Manchester United, NetEase Cloud Music, RUM Group, Skyworth Digital, MBC Group, Saregama India, Arashi Vision and Bilibili.

Last FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
Atlanta Braves Holdings$732M$98M5.6x5.2x41.7x68.2x
Sportradar$1.4B$595M2.3x2.0x5.6x8.5x
Manchester United$906M$320M4.9x4.8x13.9x15.4x
NetEase Cloud Music$1.2B$246M0.4x0.3x1.7x1.7x
RUM Group$101M($78M)25.0x11.3x(32.4x)(50.4x)
Skyworth Digital$1.3B$38M1.5x-53.3x-
MBC Group$1.4B$136M0.9x1.1x9.3x17.9x
Saregama India$100M$36M10.9x9.4x30.0x26.8x

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Common questions about Le Sports

When was Le Sports founded?Le Sports was founded in 2014.
Where is Le Sports headquartered?Le Sports is headquartered in Beijing, China.
Is Le Sports publicly listed?No, Le Sports is a private, VC-backed company.
What is Le Sports' valuation?Le Sports was last valued at $3.1B in its Series B in March 2016.
How much funding has Le Sports raised?Le Sports has raised $1.4B across 2 funding rounds.
What was Le Sports' last funding round?Le Sports' last funding round was a $1.2B Series B in March 2016, led by HNA Group.
Who are Le Sports' investors?Le Sports' investors include YF Capital, Xinpai Capital, Jianqing Wang, CICC Capital, Prometheus Capital, Caissa Tosun Development, Zhongtai Securities, HNA Group, China Construction Bank, Fortune Link and 1 other.
Which companies are comparable to Le Sports?Companies comparable to Le Sports include OneFootball, Suning Sports, Vidio, Dadi Cinema, Saregama India and FuboTV.
How many companies has Le Sports acquired?Le Sports has acquired 2 companies, including Octopus TV and Sodasoccer.
What was the largest acquisition by Le Sports?The $46M acquisition of Octopus TV in January 2016 is the largest acquisition Le Sports has made to date.
How many companies has Le Sports invested in?Le Sports has invested in 2 companies, including 17 Media and Zhangyu.
What was Le Sports' last investment?In May 2016, Le Sports invested in 17 Media's $23M Series B.

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