Chinese JD.com negotiates purchase of Media-Saturn

Media Markt could soon be in Chinese hands. Düsseldorf-based Ceconomy AG has confirmed that it is negotiating a sale with JD.com. But nothing is fixed yet. JD.com is the largest retailer in the People's Republic of China.

JD.com subsidiaries are already active in several European countries. Now the group would like to expand its involvement in Europe with the Saturn and Media Markt stores. According to Ceconomy's press release, the Chinese are considering making an offer to current shareholders in which they would receive 4.60 euros per ordinary share. This is around 23 percent higher than the closing price of Ceconomy shares on Wednesday. "Legally binding agreements have not yet been signed. It is therefore currently not foreseeable for Ceconomy whether a takeover bid will actually be made or not," said the Düsseldorf-based company.

Ceconomy operates 1030 Media Markt, Media World and Saturn stores in Europe. Deutsche Technikberatung is also part of the listed group of companies. Saturn goes back to the Saturn-Hansa store opened in Cologne in 1961, Media Markt to a MediaMarkt store opened in Munich in 1979. The group has existed in its current form since 2017, and Media-Saturn has been fully owned by Ceconomy since the end of 2020. From 2010 to 2013, Media Markt also operated several stores in the People's Republic of China.

JD.com was founded in 1998 as Jingdong and has been operating in the retail sector since 2004. The brand names have changed several times, and JD.com has been the central name since 2013. In addition to retail, the Group is now also active in the real estate, logistics, healthcare and IT services sectors.

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