乐视财务困境可能波及中国演艺界名人

More than a dozen Chinese show business celebrities, including director Zhang Yimou, have invested in the movie production unit of LeEco, the once-high-flying Chinese technology group now suffering from a cash shortage.

一度高歌猛进的中国科技集团乐视(LeEco)现陷入资金短缺困境，包括张艺谋导演在内的十多名中国演艺界名人曾投资其旗下影视制作公司。

The star-studded list of investors in Le Vision Pictures testifies to the charm and influence of Jia Yueting, founder and chief executive of LeEco, who ranked as China’s 31st richest man on a recent list.

乐视影业(Le Vision Pictures)明星云集的投资者名单证明了乐视创始人兼首席执行官贾跃亭的魅力和影响力，在新近出炉的中国富豪排行榜中，贾跃亭位列第31名。

But Mr Jia’s celebrity backers are at risk of losses as LeEco runs into financial distress. LeEco’s Shenzhen-listed unit, Leshi Internet Information and Technology Corp, said this month that it had abandoned a plan to acquire Le Vision’s unlisted assets in exchange for cash and stock.

但随着乐视陷入财务困境，贾跃亭的这些名人投资者们面临亏损风险。乐视深圳上市公司，乐视网信息技术有限公司(Leshi Internet Information and Technology Corp)本月表示已放弃收购乐视影业账外资产换取股票和现金的计划。

The deal would have allowed the celebrities a chance to cash out, but it fell through after Leshi’s stock price dropped more than one-third since the start of 2016.

这笔交易本可让这些名人投资者们获得套现机会，但自从2016年开始乐视股价下跌了三分之一以上，该交易也随之落空。

Mr Jia said in a letter to employees this month that LeEco had burnt through cash too quickly as it expanded into businesses ranging from smartphones to driverless cars.

贾跃亭本月在给员工的一封信中表示，乐视在扩张过程中烧钱太快，其业务涵盖智能手机到无人驾驶汽车，

Le Vision is lead investor in The Great Wall, an English-language epic directed by Mr Zhang and starring Matt Damon. The film’s $150m budget makes it the most expensive Chinese film to date. It is scheduled to be released in China in December and in the US in February, but it has already received criticism online for casting Mr Damon as the saviour of ancient China.

乐视影业是电影《长城》(The Great Wall)的主要投资者，这部史诗级英语大片由张艺谋指导，马特•达蒙(Matt Damon)领衔主演。1.5亿美元的预算令它成了迄今为止成本最高的中国电影。该电影计划12月份在中国发行，明年2月在美国上演，但网络上已有人对达蒙扮演古代中国的救世主提出批评。

Mr Zhang, director of Red Sorghum and the opening ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympics, invested Rmb12m ($1.7m) in Le Vision in 2015 in exchange for a 1.4 per cent stake, according to a filing in May announcing the acquisition plan.

根据今年5月公布的收购计划，张艺谋在2015年向乐视影业投资1200万元人民币(合170万美元)，换取1.4%的股份。张艺谋导演曾指导电影《红高粱》(Red Sorghum)，以及2008年北京奥运会(Olympics)开幕式。

Le Vision’s other shareholders include Guo Jingming, gender-bending author of bestselling young-adult fiction series Tiny Times who was voted “most hated male celebrity” for three years running on online forum Tianya; Huang Xiaoming, the heart-throb actor and singer whose marriage to model Angelababy dominated Chinese gossip websites last year; and Li Xiaolu, who rose to fame at 16 as star of the 1998 Cultural Revolution epic Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl.

乐视影业其他股东包括著有系列畅销青春小说《小时代》(Tiny Times)的作者郭敬明，知名演员黄晓明，以及16岁时以主演《天浴》(Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl)出名的演员李小璐。

Despite several successful film releases, including the Tiny Times series of films, Le Vision lost Rmb102m in 2015 and Rmb890m in 2014, according to a Leshi filing. In August, Le Vision hired Adam Goodman, former Paramount Pictures president, to run its US operations.

虽然乐视影业成功发行了包括《小时代》系列电影在内的几部影片，但据乐视公告显示，乐视影业2015年亏损1.02亿元人民币，2014年亏损8.9亿元人民币。今年8月，乐视影业聘请前派拉蒙影业(Paramount Pictures)总裁亚当•古德曼(Adam Goodman)来运营其美国业务。

In a further sign of problems at LeEco, Faraday Future, the California-based electric car company that LeEco has financed, suspended construction on a new factory in Nevada this month. A Nevada official blamed the halt on overdue payments to Faraday’s contractor.

Faraday Future进一步预示了乐视的诸多问题，这是乐视资助的位于美国加利福尼亚州的电动汽车公司，本月该公司暂停了内华达州的一个新工厂的建设。内华达州官员将停工归咎于Faraday Future承包商拖欠款项。

Mr Jia has also drawn celebrities into other ventures, including LeSports. In March, LeSports raised Rmb8bn in a series B funding round that included Wang Baoqiang, the migrant worker-turned-actor who riveted social media in August by publicly accusing his wife of cheating on him with his agent. Mr Wang’s wife denied any affair.

贾跃亭还将名人投资者拉入其他公司，包括乐视体育(LeSports)。今年3月，乐视体育B轮融资筹得80亿元人民币，投资者包括演员王宝强。

LeSports has also run into funding difficulties. In January, the company announced it would invest Rmb2bn over two years to acquire a 50 per cent stake in Beijing Guoan Football Club. But in September, Guoan’s chairman said LeSports had not made its first scheduled payment and the deal had been terminated.

乐视体育也遇到了财务问题。今年1月，该公司宣布将在两年内投资20亿元人民币，以收购北京国安足球俱乐部(Beijing Guoan Football Club)50%股份。但国安董事长在9月份表示乐视体育尚未支付第一笔计划付款，该交易已经终止。