Business · Companies · 1 hr ago
EU approves JD.com takeover of MediaMarkt and Saturn owner
The European Commission approved JD.com’s takeover of Ceconomy, the German parent company of electronics chains MediaMarkt and Saturn.
JD.com is a Chinese online retailer, and its offer values Ceconomy at about €2.2 billion.
The EU had concerns that Chinese state support could give the companies an unfair advantage through cheap financing, tax breaks and grants.
To address that risk, JD.com and Ceconomy must keep transactions between them on market terms and make logistics services available to other EU businesses under the same conditions.
The safeguards will apply for 10 years and are intended to prevent subsidies from distorting competition.
Germany and other countries have also approved the deal, with conditions including protections for customer data in Germany.
The companies expect to complete the takeover in the coming days, after saying all offer conditions have been met.
The European Commission approved JD.com’s planned takeover of German retailer Ceconomy, subject to conditions.
Ceconomy owns the MediaMarkt and Saturn electronics chains.
The conditions are intended to prevent Chinese state subsidies from distorting competition, including by requiring transactions between the companies to be on market terms.
JD.com and Ceconomy said all offer conditions had been met and the deal would close in the coming days.
The offer values Ceconomy at about €2.2 billion.
- Who
- Chinese e-commerce company JD.com is seeking to acquire Ceconomy, the parent company of MediaMarkt and Saturn.
- What
- The European Commission approved the planned takeover subject to conditions.
- When
- The approval was announced on November 3, 2026.
- Where
- The decision was made by the European Commission in Brussels and concerns Ceconomy’s European business.
- Why
- The Commission imposed conditions to prevent subsidies from distorting competition and to ensure fair competition.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
JD.com made a takeover offer for Ceconomy.
Germany’s Federal Cartel Office cleared the acquisition.
The European Commission raised preliminary concerns and examined the case more closely.
China threatened countermeasures over the EU investigation.
The European Commission approved the takeover subject to conditions.
- Offer value
- About €2.2 billion
- Commitment period
- 10 years
- Ceconomy brands
- MediaMarkt and Saturn
- JD.com workforce
- About 570,000 employees
- Ceconomy footprint
- More than 1,000 stores in 11 European countries
5 sources
JD.com to close $2.5b MediaMarkt owner deal after EU nod
Chinese webgigant JD.com mag moederbedrijf MediaMarkt onder voorwaarden kopen
EU genehmigt chinesische Übernahme von MediaMarktSaturn
Chinese retail giant JD.com cleared to buy Germany’s Ceconomy
Mediamarkt-Saturn: EU-Kommission genehmigt Übernahme durch chinesischen Techriesen JD.com
What people are saying
dass alle in der EU tätigen Unternehmen, einschliesslich chinesischer Unternehmen, gleich behandelt werden und unter gleichen Bedingungen konkurrieren