JD.com is working on adjustments to the concessions it first put on the table to clinch approval for buying Ceconomy, the EU's largest electronics retailer, in a €2.2 billion deal valued at $2.6 billion. The company has been meeting with officials scrutinizing the transaction under the EU's Foreign Subsidies Regulation, and the revisions aim to safeguard the competitiveness of JD.com's logistics and technology operations, according to people familiar with the process.
Brussels kicked off a detailed probe in May under the FSR, marking the first time a Chinese acquisition has been examined with the new rulebook designed to curb state-backed distortions in the EU market. In a subsequent formal warning, regulators said JD.com may have benefited from state support in areas such as preferential financing, tax breaks and grants, cautioning that this "may improve the competitive position of the merged entity and lead to a negative impact in the internal market." Beijing criticized the step and, to escalate its pushback, banned any entities or persons from following the EU's demands or helping its investigation into the planned buyout, further straining already tense trade ties. Sign up for the Tech Newsletter bundle.
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The original concessions drew objections from competitors during a market test, prompting JD.com to work on tweaks that, according to people familiar, could set up the deal for conditional approval by Oct. 23. Winning over Brussels would bolster JD.com's push beyond China at a time when spending at home has been under pressure. Ceconomy reported 1,067 MediaMarkt, MediaWorld or Saturn stores in its 2025 annual report, including 403 in Germany, 145 in Italy, 111 in Spain and 54 in Austria.
JD.com's offer says Ceconomy will continue to operate independently and the workforce will not be altered. Ceconomy shares changed hands at €3.81 on Friday, about 17% below JD.com's €4.60 all-cash bid, while the transaction remains subject to EU clearance.
If the revamped package lands by the Oct. 23 deadline and wins conditional approval, the buyout could advance, with ripple effects for European retail exposure and any holdings tied to JD.com or Ceconomy. Officials at the European Commission and JD.com did not provide comment on the prospective revisions, and A request for comment from Ceconomy went unanswered at the time of publication.
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