FSR: Conditional approval of JD.com’s acquisition of CECONOMY
Following an in-depth investigation, the Commission has approved, under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), JD.com’s acquisition of CECONOMY, subject to commitments offered by the parties.
JD.com, headquartered in the Cayman Islands, is a holding company listed on the Nasdaq and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, heading a group operating a retail business and an e-commerce marketplace in the People’s Republic of China (‘PRC’), as well as providing logistic and technological solutions.
CECONOMY, headquartered in Germany, is a retail company specialised in the field of consumer electronics and home appliances. Its main brands are MediaMarkt, MediaWorld and Saturn, which operate online and brick-and-mortar retail businesses in several Member States.
The Commission found that JD.com had received foreign subsidies from China, in the form of preferential financing, tax incentives and grants. These subsidies could provide CECONOMY with logistic and technological capabilities and strengthen its capacity to finance activities and engage in aggressive pricing to the detriment of competitors.
To address these concerns the parties committed to conduct intra-group transactions on market terms, including for financing, and to provide JD.com’s warehousing and logistic services and technology services to third parties on the same terms as those offered to CECONOMY. The commitments will apply for 10 years and will be monitored by an independent trustee.
The decision will be published under case number FS.100253 in the Foreign Subsidies register.
For more information, see the Commission’s PR.