Chinese ecommerce giant JD.com is said to be in talks with Ceconomy, the owner of MediaMarkt and Saturn, about an acquisition. The Chinese platform wants to expand in Europe while its domestic economy is slowing down.
JD.com is one of the biggest ecommerce companies in China. Ceconomy itself recently reported a revenue of 22.4 billion euros in the past fiscal year. Nearly 24 percent of that revenue was generated online. MediaMarkt’s newly launched online marketplace was a large part of that growth. The marketplace has been expanding in European markets in the last couple of months.
Already negotiating in 2023
According to Bloomberg, JD.com has recently approached Ceconomy and its major shareholders about a possible deal. The companies were already in talks in 2023, but so far, an acquisition has not taken place.
Acquiring Ceconomy would mean access to a strong retail network in Europe
As the Chinese domestic market is cooling down, JD.com is now looking at foreign expansion possibilities. The company also looked at a takeover of British electronics chain Curry’s, but that idea was abandoned. With the acquisition of Ceconomy, JD.com would have access to strong retail network in Europe, including brick-and-mortar stores. This could make it easier to distribute low-cost Chinese products quickly.
Complex shareholder structure
It is unclear whether an acquisition will actually take place. Ceconomy has a complex shareholder structure, with several families owning about a third of the German company. Descendants of the founder of MediaMarkt also own nearly 30 percent of the shares. This could complicate negotiations.
