The Chinese online trading platform JD.com wants to take over the Düsseldorf-based Ceconomy group, which includes Mediamarkt and Saturn. Now Brussels agrees - under conditions. The main issue here is the risk of an “aggressive pricing policy”.
The European Commission has approved the planned takeover of Europe's largest electronics retailer Mediamarkt-Saturn by the Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com with conditions. The authority announced this. The competition watchdogs want to ensure that Chinese subsidies do not distort the market.
JD.com and Ceconomy announced in a joint press release that all offer conditions had now been met and announced that the transaction would be completed in the coming days. The Ceconomy group is the parent company of Mediaaarkt and Saturn.
The Brussels authority found that JD.com had received subsidies from China in the form of preferential financing, tax breaks and grants. The EU Commission saw the risk that capacities financed from this would ultimately also be made available to Ceconomy and that the companies could put competitors under pressure through “an aggressive pricing policy”.
The companies are therefore obliged, among other things, to ensure that all intra-group transactions between JD.com and Ceconomy are carried out at arm's length conditions, in particular financing. This is intended to prevent cross-subsidization.
The companies had proposed the commitments in light of the competition law review and are now bound to them for ten years. China threatened the EU with countermeasures over the investigation in August. Ceconomy values the Chinese online retailer's offer at around 2.2 billion euros.
The approval of the Brussels authorities is one of the conditions for the change of ownership. State aid is subject to strict rules in the EU to avoid distortion of competition. The authority also examines certain subsidies from countries outside the EU.
Beijing threatens consequences
The Chinese Ministry of Justice announced in August that if the EU stuck to its actions, it would react decisively. At the same time, Beijing banned organizations and individuals from supporting the EU with certain requests for information in China. The Justice Ministry accused Brussels of demanding extensive and unnecessary information from China.
At the time, a spokesman for the EU Commission argued against the importance of equal competitive conditions. While previously only subsidies from European countries were examined, foreign subsidies are now also examined. The aim is "that all companies operating in the EU, including Chinese companies, are treated equally and compete on equal terms," said the spokesman.
EU Competition Commissioner Teresa Ribera welcomed the “constructive approach of the companies involved”. "Consumers benefit from a competitive retail and e-commerce sector where all businesses have a level playing field."
JD.com made a takeover offer in the summer of 2025 and secured the majority of Ceconomy shares a few months later. Authorities in several countries, including Germany, also reviewed the takeover and ultimately gave it the green light.
In many cases the release was subject to conditions. In Germany, these are intended to ensure that customers' personal data remains protected. They also grant the federal government strong monitoring and control rights and enable it to revoke approval in the event of violations.
Mediamarkt-Saturn is Europe's largest electronics retailer and the fourth largest online shop in Germany after Amazon, Otto and Zalando. The trading company Ceconomy, to which the MediaMarktSaturn Retail Group now belongs, was created in 2017 as a spin-off from Metro.
According to the research institute EHI, JD.com is the largest Chinese retail group with annual sales of almost 159 billion US dollars (2024) and is also one of the ten largest worldwide. The group, which has around 570,000 employees, is also active in the areas of technology, logistics and health, among other things. In Germany, the commitment has so far been manageable. In March of this year, JD.com launched the online store Joybuy.
JD.com further reported on the EU Commission's decision that its business model and strategy remained unchanged and formed the basis for accelerated growth. "The board will continue to be responsible for the implementation of the business strategy and the operational management of the company," it said. JD.com has also made a binding commitment to protect the fundamentals that are particularly important for employees, brands and markets.
Ceconomy is active in more than 1,000 markets in eleven European countries, around 400 of which are here. There are only branches of the Saturn chain in Germany. According to preliminary figures, the trading company had sales of 24.0 billion euros in the financial year that ended at the end of September. According to the company, adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose by 27 percent to 515 million euros. The group employed around 50,000 people worldwide in 2024, including almost 20,000 in Germany.
