(Yicai Global) Aug. 13 -- Shares held by controversial Chinese businessman Jia Yueting in the company he founded, Leshi Internet and Information Technology, are to put up for auction again next month, after a failed attempt last year, to help repay the mountain of debt owed by the firm after Jia borrowed heavily in Leshi’s name to fund diversification into new energy vehicles and other ventures that did not pay off.

Some 121 million shares in the online video streaming company will go under the hammer in six separate lots on Sept. 11 at a starting price of CNY1.13 (USD0.20), according to Alibaba Group Holding’s auction site. This is almost half its share price [NEEQ:400084] of CNY2.03 on the National Equities Exchange and Quotations at midday today.

The sale represents just 13 percent of Jia’s holdings in the business. He held 898 million shares, or 22.52 percent of equity, as of the first quarter. An earlier attempt to sell his stock last June ended in failure when they were priced at CNY2.51, well above the NEEQ trading price of CNY0.90 at the time.

Leshi’s head office in Beijing will also go to the highest bidder on Sept. 9, at a starting price of CNY570 million (USD88 million), 70 percent below its market price, according to the auction site.

Leshi’s assets have been put up for sale after overambitious expansion efforts by Jia led to losses of around CNY30 billion (USD4.6 billion) over the last three years. The firm was kicked off the Shenzhen stock exchange for its dismal performance in May 2020.

As of the end of last year, Leshi had net assets of minus CNY16.9 billion (USD8.6 billion). Last year it racked up losses of CNY2.5 billion (USD385.9 million) with revenue of just CNY468 million. In the first quarter, it logged a 12.8 percent narrowing of losses to CNY130 million but revenue plunged 39.5 percent year on year to CNY53.8 million.

Leshi’s revenue from advertisements, subscribers and content has plummeted due to the sustained damage to its brand and goodwill, it said earlier. Income from long-term assets such as the copyright to films and TV dramas can no longer cover its costs.

Jia, who fled to the US in 2017 to escape the mounting debt crisis and to focus on developing his NEV startup Faraday Future, has since resigned from all his positions at Leshi although he remains a majority shareholder. He has pledged to honor all of his debts, but, until now, little has been forthcoming.

Editor: Kim Taylor