JD.com takes a stake in Ceconomy (MediaMarkt) with an eye on a full takeover

JD.com has reached an agreement with the major shareholders of Ceconomy, the owner of electronics chains MediaMarkt and Saturn. The Chinese e-commerce company, which will acquire a stake of nearly 32 %, aims to take over the entire company.

“Staying still is not an option”

Convergenta, the investment fund of the Kellerhaus family and the largest shareholder of Ceconomy, will remain on board: it is selling only a limited portion of its shares to JD.com and retains a stake of 25.35 %. Together, both partners will hold 57.1 % of the company. Other major shareholders, such as the Haniel family, investment company Beisheim, and Freenet are exiting completely. JD.com offers shareholders 4.6 euros per share, 23 % above Ceconomy’s share price from a week ago and valuing the company at 2.2 billion euros.

“Given the constantly evolving customer expectations and market dynamics, standing still is not an option. In the coming years, we don’t just want to keep pace with the transformation in European retail – we want to continue leading it. JD.com is the right partner for this”, says CEO Kai-Ulrich Deissner of Ceconomy.

JD.com and Ceconomy make important commitments to the staff: there will be no layoffs, there will be no store closures, management will remain in place, the organizational structure will not change in the next five years, and the current consultation and participation model will be respected for the next three years.