JD.com, one of China’s largest e-commerce companies, is showing renewed interest in Ceconomy, the owner of electronics chains MediaMarkt and Saturn. Talks took previously place in 2023 and are now said to have resumed.
Chinese fallback market
JD.com is said to have recently approached Ceconomy and its major shareholders again about a possible deal, as anonymous sources report to Bloomberg. Ceconomy, based in Düsseldorf, has over a thousand MediaMarkt and Saturn stores across Europe. The electronics group’s market value is currently around 1.5 billion euros.
JD.com is looking for foreign expansion opportunities, driven by a cooling Chinese domestic market. A possible acquisition of Ceconomy would give the company direct access to a strong retail network in Europe, which would allow it to more easily distribute low-cost Chinese products. JD.com’s pricing strategy also fits well with MediaMarkt and Saturn’s competitive price image.
Complex balance of power
Hence, this isn’t JD.com’s first attempt to gain a foothold in the European market. In late 2023, there was also speculation about the Chinese giant’s interest in Ceconomy. JD.com is also said to have previously considered a takeover of British electronics chain Curry’s, but the e-commerce group reportedly eventually abandoned the idea.
However, a possible takeover is complicated by Ceconomy’s complex shareholder structure. The Haniel, Beisheim and Schmidt-Ruthenbeck families together own about a third of Ceconomy. The Haniel family in particular, which holds 16.7% of the shares, is seen as a crucial link in the negotiations. In addition, the descendants of MediaMarkt founder Erich Kellerhals, with also nearly 30% of the shares, form a second power block that JD.com needs to get past.
