On May 28, the European Union announced an in-depth investigation into Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com’s proposed acquisition of German electronics retailer Ceconomy, citing concerns that the deal may have benefited from Chinese state subsidies. The European Commission said its preliminary review indicated that “JD.com may have received foreign subsidies that distort the EU internal market.” Brussels will assess whether such subsidies enabled JD.com to offer an unusually high bid for Ceconomy, potentially influencing the acquisition process and distorting competition within the EU market.
JD.com denied that the transaction would be financed through subsidies and stated that it had not received any support that could distort competition in Europe. Reuters reported last July that JD.com planned to launch a voluntary public takeover offer for Ceconomy shareholders at 4.60 euros per share, valuing the company at more than 2.2 billion euros.
Ceconomy owns Europe’s largest consumer electronics retail chains, MediaMarkt and Saturn, operating around 1,000 stores across multiple European countries, as well as one of Europe’s largest online electronics platforms. In fiscal year 2023–24, the company employed about 50,000 people and generated annual revenue of 22.4 billion euros, including 5.1 billion euros from online sales. JD.com CEO Sandy Xu said the acquisition aims to build “Europe’s leading next-generation consumer electronics platform.”
Source: Deutsche Welle, May 28, 2026
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