Le Sports Culture Development Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of Letv, announced recently the establishment of a joint 5 billion Yuan (USD780 million) sports fund, the Bird's Nest-Le Sports Culture Industry Fund, the largest fund in the sports industry in China, (also referred as Lesports Innovation Fund), in conjunction with Beijing Bird's Nest Culture Creative Co. Ltd.
The fund, with an asset under management (AUM) of 5 billion Yuan, aims at accelerating the comprehensive incubation of a sports businesses ecosystem and enhancing the value of the sports industry in China.
Lei Zhenjian, managing partner of Lesports Innovation Fund and CEO of Le Sports said, "The establishment of the fund is driven by the market and 2015 is the beginning of a substantial development in China's sports industry."
Currently, businesses in the fund will only receive funds in RMB in phase one. Funds in USD will be added in phase 2 to create a synergy between funds in different currencies and introduce technologies and products from overseas.
Founded in 2014, Le Sports is an integral part of the ecosystem, which serves as a global technology conglomerate established by Jia Yueting and Liu Hong in 2004. With a commitment to provide its audiences a chance to experience disruptive technology at its best, it owns a wide range of businesses including TV, mobile phone, electric vehicles, sport, music, movies and TV shows.
Letv has recently announced its plan to expand into Indian market and is said to bring the Letv ecosystem to the country.
Bird's Nest Culture Creative Company on the other hand helps to extend the connotation and value of the original Bird's Nest brand. Since its establishment 8 months ago, nearly 200 culture and sports related road shows, launching events, workshops and exhibitions have been held in China, providing a great offline platform for the information gathering and project incubation in the industry.