European Commission Grants Conditional Approval for JD.com's Acquisition of Ceconomy

The European Commission has granted conditional approval for Chinese e-commerce company JD.com's acquisition of Ceconomy, the parent company of MediaMarkt and Saturn brands, for 2.2 billion euros. The approval allows the merger and acquisition process to proceed under competition rules. The transaction covers the retail operations within Ceconomy. Under the agreement, the markets in which MediaMarkt and Saturn operate will be incorporated into JD.com's global structure. The acquisition also has a Turkish leg. The deal is structured to include 89 MediaMarkt stores in Turkey. Thus, JD.com will establish a presence through the store network in the Turkish retail market. The European Commission's conditional approval constitutes one of the regulatory steps required to complete the transaction. If the parties fulfill the approval conditions, the acquisition process is expected to proceed. Not investment advice.