WORLDTECHEU Clears JD.com's Takeover of MediaMarkt Parent Ceconomy on Conditions
European regulators have cleared the planned takeover of Ceconomy, the company behind MediaMarkt, by the Chinese e-commerce group JD.com, subject to conditions. According to Notebookcheck, the transaction has now cleared its final regulatory hurdle in Europe.
Clearance hinges on binding commitments
The Commission released the deal once the parties committed to binding remedies, even though diplomatic relations around the review had become strained. The decision followed a detailed antitrust examination, the kind of inquiry that asks whether a firm is leveraging its scale to push rivals out of the market.
Before final approval, national reviews of foreign direct investment had already taken place in several European countries.
Examination of Beijing's backing for JD.com
European competition authorities looked into possible state subsidies, favourable financing and tax incentives that Beijing may have extended to JD.com. To guard against cross-subsidies that would distort markets, JD.com and Ceconomy are required to conduct all transactions and financing within the group on market-standard terms for a decade.
Stores continue trading as before
Day-to-day business at MediaMarkt and Saturn will carry on unchanged.
Dispute with Beijing over the inquiry
The review also left open disagreement. In August 2026, China's Ministry of Justice sharply rejected the far-reaching data requests from Brussels, accusing the EU of applying unfair standards. It forbade domestic bodies from helping European investigators and warned of reciprocal steps.
Open questions
- Will the ten-year requirement for market-standard financing be enforced in practice?
- Will China actually carry out the reciprocal steps it has threatened against European companies?