Ceconomy

Retail · E-Commerce · Cross-Border M&A

Acquisition

JD.com wins EU approval for $2.5B Ceconomy takeover

Regulators used a subsidy law for the first time against a Chinese buyer, forcing the winner to share its logistics network with rivals for a decade.

• The European Commission cleared JD.com's €2.2 billion ($2.5 billion) acquisition of German retailer Ceconomy under the EU's Foreign Subsidies Regulation, with conditions attached.
• Ceconomy is the parent of MediaMarkt and Saturn, operating more than 1,000 stores and about 48,000 employees across Europe, roughly 17,000 of them in Germany.
• JD.com must conduct intra-group transactions and financing with Ceconomy on market terms and open its warehousing, logistics and technology services to third-party retailers on equal terms.
• The commitments are binding for 10 years and will be monitored by an independent trustee under the Commission's supervision.
• This is the Commission's third in-depth Foreign Subsidies Regulation merger review and the first involving a Chinese acquirer; the prior two targeted UAE-based buyers.
• With all offer conditions now met, the companies expect to close the deal by around November 12, 2026, when accepting Ceconomy shareholders are to be paid.
• JD.com already launched its Joybuy retail platform in six European markets in March, backed by its JoyExpress delivery network, ahead of this physical-retail push.
• The ruling shows Brussels is now willing to approve Chinese takeovers of European retail icons while imposing behavioral remedies rather than blocking deals outright, a precedent likely to shape future state-subsidy scrutiny.